There are two major film series being released in this gaming franchise right now. There are the live-action ones and then there are the CG ones like Resident Evil: Death Island. Unlike the live-action adaptations, the CG ones are considered canon. It’s sad that they get marketed poorly comparatively and do not appear on the big screen.
Regardless of the marketing, fans may wish to know how Resident Evil: Death Island ties into the games. There are a lot of plot elements to go over and histories to unravel as well. Lapsed fans may be lost, but that’s why this guide is here.
WARNING! Spoilers ahead.
6 Flashing Back To Raccoon City
The movie opens with a group of umbrella soldiers getting driven into Raccoon City. This should already make viewers perk up because longtime fans know that Raccoon City was incinerated via a bomb in 1998. That’s the year all of the incidents take place too for the first few games starting with Resident Evil 0 to Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.
The zombie infection breaks out from the Spencer Mansion and makes its way to Raccoon City despite the efforts of Jill, Chris, and the others. So, Dylan Blake, and his Umbrella unit have to arrive somewhere between the second and third games. Suffice it to say things do not end well for everyone except for him in Resident Evil: Death Island.
5 The Movie’s Timeline In Relation To The Games
The opening sequence has to take place in 1998 and that is the only flashback in the movie. The rest of the film takes place in 2015. First, it’s set in San Francisco before it then moves to Alcatraz for the main location. In the timeline of the games, everything up to Resident Evil 6 has happened already. The incidents in that game take place between 2012 and 2013.
Resident Evil: Vendetta, another CG movie, takes place in 2014 and Resident Evil: Death Island is very much a sequel to that movie in one major way: Maria Gomez. Her father, Diego, was one of the villains in that movie. For those curious, the events of Resident Evil 7 take place primarily in 2017, so there is still 2016 to account for. Perhaps a game or another CG movie could fill in some more gaps from that year.
4 Jill Returning To Duty
Jill returning to active duty is one of the biggest revelations in the movie. Chronologically, the last time she was playable in a story game was in 2012 via Resident Evil: Revelations. That game took place in 2005 and in 2006 she got kidnapped by Wesker in a prologue to Resident Evil 5. Chris and Sheva save Jill from being mind controlled by Wesker in 2009 and Jill has since been recovering.
Just her appearing in general in the movie is a huge deal. It’s also a bit weird since she looks like her design from the remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, but that’s a whole other conversation. Assuredly, fans would love to see Jill star in a mainline game once again, and Resident Evil: Death Island could kick up interest.
3 Rebecca Returns, Again
Rebecca suffered a similar fate to Jill in the games because she largely became forgotten. First, there were two campaigns in Resident Evil. If players chose to go through the Spencer Mansion with Jill, Barry would be her partner. If players chose Chris, he would eventually meet up with Rebecca who got to the mansion earlier with another team.
This would later be explored in the prequel, Resident Evil 0, wherein Rebecca investigated some earlier Umbrella shenanigans in the Arklay Mountains. She was accompanied on that mission by the convict, Billy, who has not appeared since the prequel. Moving forward a bit, Rebecca had her first big return party via the CG movie Resident Evil: Vendetta. That movie takes place a year before this in 2014 and in many ways, Resident Evil: Death Island is a direct sequel to it.
2 TerraSave And Claire
TerraSave is the organization that Claire joined following the events of the Raccoon City incident. The group was introduced in Resident Evil: Degeneration which took place in 2005. The movie revolves around an airport, Harvardville, getting infected by a virus. TerraSave was blamed for the incident, but eventually, charges were cleared thanks to the efforts of Claire and Leon.
For the games, TerraSave didn’t become a big deal until Resident Evil: Revelations 2. This was the first time Claire was playable since Resident Evil - Code: Veronica, which was a 15-year-long gap. The beginning of that game had terrorists attack the TerraSave building. They then kidnap Claire, along with Barry’s daughter, Moira, and locked them up on a prison island. TerraSave doesn’t play a huge role in Resident Evil: Death Island, but it is mentioned by Claire.
1 The Monsters
Finally, there are two big monsters in the Resident Evil series that have a pivotal role in the movie. The biggest one is the Lickers which were first introduced in Resident Evil 2. They made several appearances in the early games but haven’t been around for decades save for CG movies like this or the live-action ones.
The design of the Lickers has changed in Resident Evil: Death Island as they look more aquatic. Also, their bodies are being used by Dylan to harvest a virus via bio-drones. Another monster that has not been confirmed is the Neptune. This was the codename of the sharks that appeared in the first game. They made one more appearance via Resident Evil Outbreak. The sea creature in this movie is a bit hard to see, so it could be Neptune or it could be something else.