Do you love your Milla Jovovich kicking ass and taking names (as if there’s any other kind of Milla Jovovich) as Alice in the Resident Evil franchise? Hang on tight, because the T-Virus tour will most likely be stopping at the sixth and—according to the writer/director—last movie. If such a thing is possible to say about a zombie movie franchise.
In a new interview with Collider, Paul W.S. Anderson (who has directed several of the franchise’s installments, and written most of them, and is married to Jovovich) claims that Resident Evil: The Final Chapter will indeed live up to its current working title. When asked if this would be the final installment, he said:
That’s what’s on the title page, it’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, so absolutely.
Ominous words, Anderson. Ominous words.
He then cracked a joke about how Christopher Lambert famously declared, “There can be only one!” in Highlander only for there to be four more subsequent movies, so obviously Anderson is someone who appreciates the fluid nature of a franchise. Despite the films garnering an average Rotten Tomatoes score of only about 25%, clearly there’s an eager fanbase for the adapations.
Jovovich seems to share the sentiment: In 2012, around the release of Resident Evil: Retribution, she acknowledged that “there’s only so much longer I can play Alice as she is today.” She even suggested that Alice could be a mentor to the younger generation.
Anderson is still writing the script, so production schedule and release date won’t be set for a while. The screenplay may even wind up with a different title; The Final Chapter replaced the original rumored title, Resident Evil: Rising. But fans might want to start gearing up to say goodbye to Alice… at least, until she’s the Obi-Wan Kenobi figure in the next Resident Evil spin-off.
Photo: Screen Gems
