Resident Evil Movie Series Reboot Confirmed

While the most recent Resident Evil film--aptly titled The Final Chapter--marked the end of the series for longtime director and writer Paul WS Anderson, it doesn't mean we'll never see the franchise on the big screen again. It will, however, likely take a different form.

Constantin Film, the German film company that owns the rights to series, intends to reboot the movie franchise, according to Variety. Constantin chairman Martin Moszkowicz confirmed at the Cannes Film Festival that the company is at work on a reboot , although he didn't share any details. That includes who would direct or star in future movies or whether they would somehow connect to the six existing films.

This news might come as a surprise, as the Resident Evil movies have generally been panned by critics, and this year's The Final Chapter was no different. But the movie series has earned $1.2 billion worldwide, and The Final Chapter alone grossed $312 million--the vast majority of which came from outside of the US. The lack of major success in the US is less of an issue than perhaps ever before, as foreign box-office grosses have becoming increasingly key in the movie business. A strong performance in China is likely the reason Pacific Rim is getting a sequel, for instance.

Anderson has directed four of the six live-action Resident Evil movies and written all of them. He announced well in advance of The Final Chapter's release that he intended for it to be the last movie, a sentiment that was echoed by Milla Jovovich, who has starred in all six movies. Anderson is currently at work on another film adaptation of a video game series, Monster Hunter.

Unrelated to the live-action series, several CG Resident Evil movies have been released. The next one, Vendetta, launches in June.