Resident Evil movies: what order to watch them in, characters and history

Resident Evil movies

If there is a franchise that has captivated millions of people around the world, it is the creation of Capcom, Resident Evil . Launched on the market for the first time as a video game for SegaSaturn and PlayStation in 1996, just six years later it saw how it jumped into theaters starring one of the best-known actresses of the time. Neither more nor less than the always intrepid Milla Jovovich.

Although Resident Evil movies have always been treated as B-series products focused on a very specific audience, a fan of video games and connoisseur of the lore of the franchise, the truth is that despite that ballast it has always managed to stay alive. And proof of this is that this year we have seen the arrival of an original series on Netflix. Of course, following the general trend of the film saga, the result has not been the best and, as a sign of that disappointment, the platform has decided to cancel it definitively.

Resident Evil Milla Jovovich.

the key characters

It must be remembered that since 2002 a chronology has prevailed that opted at the time not to take as absolute protagonists those we had been seeing since 1996 in video games. That is why of the seven films that have been released, six have Alice as the main character, played by Milla Jovovich .

Alice Resident Evil.

Of course, what they did not dare to change was the name of the organization that is behind the T virus and that will cause the zombie apocalypse throughout the planet. Obviously, we are talking about the Umbrella Corporation, also known by the same name in video games.

Corporación Umbrella.

From the hand of the Umbrella Corporation we have Albert Wesker, a villain who also appeared in video games and who we will begin to see in the movies from Resident Evil 3 Extinction . From that moment on, he will opt for an indefinite role that will sometimes be able to get close to Alice and sometimes fight against her to life or death.

Albert Wesker.

Now, where are the Claire Redfields, Chris Redfields, Jill Valentines, Leon Kennedys, and Barry Burtons of video games? Well, while the saga starring Alice chooses to introduce them separately and sporadically in different installments, the latest adaptation of the video game, Resident Evil Welcome to Racoon City , prefers to be faithful to the original Capcom work by putting them on screen from the beginning ( except Burton).

Resident Evil Bienvenidos a Racoon City.

It is in this cinematic reboot already far from the hands of the couple (also in reality) Paul WS Anderson and Milla Jovovich that we can expect a story landing up to the lore seen in video games. Which could always be good news.

What story do they tell us?

It is important to remember, for the peace of mind of fans of the Capcom video game saga, that what the films directed, produced or written by Paul WS Anderson tell is not canon , so when you see them do not think that you are witnessing events that in a future could be treated in video games or that have been visited over the last 26 years.

It is true that some moments of the films are inspired by stories that are distantly contemplated in some video game and, proof of this, is that they take advantage of those moments to introduce Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Ada Wong and Barry Burton. For their part, nobody still believes that in something called Resident Evil a main character like Alice ends up gaining supernatural powers.

Umbrella Corporation.

Only in the case of Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City does the story drink directly from the events of the video games, but having only one installment, the path it will take plotly remains to be seen, which must include whether Capcom considers it canon or No.

There is only one link between all the movies and video games: that the Umbrella Corporation developed the T-virus from its facilities in Raccoon City and from there it spread to the rest of the world, causing a group of heroes to fight against it to get a definitive antidote.

All movies in the franchise

The fact is that we have dared to dive into this universe of films and then we will tell you all the ones that have been released in theaters and that are already part of that immense universe of a saga that, at least as far as video games are concerned, remains as alive as ever. Despite being full of dead (easy joke).

These are all the Resident Evil movies , ordered by year of release in theaters:

Resident Evil (2002)

The first of all begins by inventing characters. Alice (Milla Jovovich) works as a member of the private security of the famous Umbrella Corporation which, as you know, is responsible for the creation of the T virus, which is the one that causes chaos and allows the dead to become zombies. Well, in this film we will learn how the apocalypse that the world is experiencing was caused and the security flaws that allowed the infectious agent to begin to spread: Raccon City, the Red Queen, the Hive. Of course, the search for an antivirus will focus a good part of the plot. You can watch it right now on HBO Max.

Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse (2004)

With the virus already rampant in Raccoon City, Alice will have to escape the city before a nuclear missile sent by the government to contain the crisis explodes. Along the way, our protagonist will cross paths with an old acquaintance of video games , such as Nemesis, who will make an appearance as if it were Resident Evil 3 (we are referring to the video game, of course). In addition, Alice will cross paths with other old acquaintances such as Jill Valentine and Carlos Olivera, in addition to visiting some scenarios and starring in certain scenes obtained directly from the video games of the time.

Resident Evil 3: Extinction (2007)

In this film we will meet Claire Redfield and Albert Wesker, although the plot is already beginning to unravel and is not limited to what happened in Racoon City, since the T-virus is reaching all corners of the planet and it is getting complicated to contain it. Now, Alice has to fight against that threat and, obviously, against the Umbrella Corporation, who wants to hunt her down in order to clone her and get new humans with the same powers while looking for a way to find a way to Alaska, the only place where it seems that things continue as usual. At least without zombies. You can see it on HBO Max.

Resident Evil 4: Afterlife (2010)

The film narrates the events that occurred one year after Resident Evil 3: Extinction and puts Alice in the role of taking the initiative, since she will create a small group to try to assault the very facilities of the Umbrella Corporation to eliminate Albert Wesker. Along the way we will meet the legendary Chris Redfield of video games.

Resident Evil: Revenge (2012)

The old artificial intelligence (the Red Queen) that was involved in spreading the T-Virus within the first Resident Evil movie returns to the scene, leading Alice to ally herself with some unexpected characters in her quest to put an end to the apocalypse that hits the planet. In this installment, new video game characters will join, such as Leon S. Kennedy, Ada Wong or Barry Burton.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)

This is the film that closes the circle of the part of the franchise starring Milla Jovovich (and directed mostly by her husband Paul WS Anderson) and that tells us that in the mystery of the creation and subsequent spread of the T virus occurred things we don’t know. So it’s up to Alice to put an end to it by returning to Raccoon City to put an end to all traces of the Umbrella Corporation, Albert Wesker, the Red Queen and the famous Hive. What do you think will happen? You can watch it on HBO Max and Netflix.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

As the movies starring Milla Jovovich are a free story within the Resident Evil universe, we cannot place this installment as a continuation or a chapter that we have to see between two previous films. On the contrary, it is a new reboot for the franchise that wants to reproduce with greater fidelity what we already enjoy in video games. In this case, Resident Evil Welcome to Racoon City focuses on many of the events seen in the first two titles of the Capcom saga, showing what the first moments of that T-virus expansion were like.

It is so close to video games that characters directly from the Japanese franchise appear on the screen: Claire and Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Ada Wong, Albert Wesker or Leon Kennedy among others.

In what order to watch the Resident Evil movies?

Unlike other endless sagas like those of the Marvel UCM, or Fast & Furious that has some comings and goings due to its chronology, in the case of the Resident Evil films we are not going to have losses because the viewing order is the same as the chronological of arrival to the cinemas . But just in case you still have doubts, here’s the thing:

  • Resident Evil (2002)
  • Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse (2004)
  • Resident Evil 3: Extinction (2007)
  • Resident Evil 4: Afterlife (2010)
  • Resident Evil: Revenge (2012)
  • Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)
  • Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)