Resident Evil adaptations are a tough nut to crack, but now that Welcome to Raccoon City is finally aiming to do the games some justice, getting Albert Wesker right is a priority, and no one knows that better than the man who’s playing him, actor Tom Hopper.
Although the main trailer for the latest Resident Evil movie did not impress many, Welcome to Raccoon City's international preview gave off different vibes that might suggest this film actually wants to capture the best survival horror aspects from the first game. While Claire and Chris Redfield get most of the spotlight, any film tackling Resident Evil lore needs a convincing Wesker, and this new teaser hints at what it takes to accomplish that.
In a new video shared by Sony, Hopper says that if Captain Albert Wesker is supposed to lead the S.T.A.R.S. alpha team he has to come across as likable. This is a trait no one who’s played a Resident Evil game before would associate with Wesker. However, upon hearing the film’s take it actually makes sense to have Wesker evolve into a villain in front of viewers, especially those not familiar with the first Resident Evil, to take better advantage of added storytelling capabilities afforded by film.
Under the premise of getting to know the mean beneath the sunglasses, the clip also includes a nod to the famous Moonlight Sonata puzzle from the games. However, this time it’s Wesker playing rather than Jill or Rebecca. Even if a less robotic Wesker is definitely a good thing for a movie, it’s still quite bold for the film to potentially have him be romantically involved with Jill as has been said up to this point.
There isn’t a lot of waiting left to find out if directly adapting a proper Resident Evil game was a good idea or not, and changes like these might not sit well with all fans of the franchise. However, there are many other ways in which Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is staying faithful to the source material. Perhaps a more controversial aspect is the fact that Welcome to Raccoon City merges Resident Evil stories from the first two games within a 107 minutes runtime.
In any case, with so many other promising video game movie adaptations coming soon, it’s probably for the best to accept Welcome to Raccoon City as the B-type zombie movie that it aims to be. For a truly enhanced zombie experience just check out Resident Evil 4 VR.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City will release exclusively in theaters on November 23, 2021.
Source: @Sony Pictures | Twitter