The classic horror video-game franchise has spawned more than a dozen films, including a reboot from “Weapons” director Zach Cregger.

Resident Evil movies in order: Every sequel, reboot, and animated film

The classic horror video-game franchise has spawned more than a dozen films, including a reboot from “Weapons” director Zach Cregger.

on September 2, 2026 4:31 p.m. ET

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Milla Jovovich in ‘Resident Evil’ (2002); Austin Abrams in ‘Resident Evil’ (2026); an infected zombie in ‘Resident Evil: Vendetta’ (2017). Credit:

Everett; Sony; Kadokawa

*Resident Evil* is celebrating its 30th anniversary with the release of a highly anticipated new horror film from Zach Cregger, the director of 2025’s Oscar-winning *Weapons*.

That’s right — *Resident Evil* is 30 years old. Maybe the only thing scarier than getting terrorized by mutated zombies in the dark is the cruel and uncaring passage of time. Capcom released the first *Resident Evil* game on PlayStation in 1996, sending players inside an eerie mansion as members of a task force investigating a series of grisly murders near Raccoon City. As it turns out, the mansion conceals a secret research facility belonging to the nefarious Umbrella Corporation, where a virus has escaped that transforms people into cannibalistic zombies.

In the three decades since, the *Resident Evil* franchise has expanded beyond video games to include numerous live-action and animated movies, not to mention a one-season Netflix series. The latest live-action movie, simply titled *Resident Evil*, hits theaters on Sept. 18 and stars *Weapons* favorite Austin Abrams as a medical courier who gets caught up in a zombie outbreak.

Whether you’re new to Raccoon City or interested in filling some gaps, navigating the *Resident Evil* franchise might seem a little challenging. No worries: ** has put together a helpful guide to all 13 movies, including the sequels, animated films, and reboots. This is your definitive guide to the *Resident Evil* films.

Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil films

Resident Evil (2002)

Michelle Rodriguez and Milla Jovovich in ‘Resident Evil’ (2002).

Columbia/ Everett

The first live-action *Resident Evil* movie was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, who previously tackled the successful live-action *Mortal Kombat* movie released in 1995. Inspired by the classic video game, *Resident Evil* stars Milla Jovovich as Alice, a woman who wakes up with amnesia in a seemingly deserted mansion. It doesn’t take long for the story to kick into gear, as Alice is joined by a group of commandos (including Michelle Rodriguez) sent into the Hive, a secret research facility beneath the mansion, owned and operated by the Umbrella Corporation, an experimental pharmaceutical company.

Unfortunately, the Hive’s creepy artificial intelligence system, the Red Queen, has locked the facility down because the deadly T-virus, which turns people into flesh-eating zombies, has escaped containment. As her memory slowly returns, Alice contends with zombies and the Hive’s own deadly security system — which provides a couple of the film’s most memorable sequences — to fight her way out of the mansion.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

Milla Jovovich in ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’.

Anderson wrote and executive produced the first sequel, which marked the feature directorial debut of Alexander Witt. *Resident Evil: Apocalypse* picks up right where the first film left off, with Alice in the custody of Umbrella, which has placed Raccoon City under quarantine after the T-virus escapes the Hive and spreads through the city.

Alice finds new allies in Umbrella soldier Carlos Oliveira (Oded Fehr), civilian L.J. Wade (Mike Epps), and S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics and Rescue Service) operative Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory). Fans of the games should recognize both Jill and Carlos. In order to get out of Raccoon City alive, Alice and her new friends enlist the help of Dr. Ashford (Jared Harris), an Umbrella scientist who promises to get them to safety if they can find and rescue his daughter.

There’s just one big problem: Umbrella has unleashed the mutant supersoldier Nemesis to hunt down the surviving S.T.A.R.S. members — and eventually Alice.

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

A zombie horde in ‘Resident Evil: Extinction’.

Directed by Russell Mulcahy (1986’s *Highlander*), *Resident Evil: Extinction* is a real highlight of the franchise. If you were disappointed by *Apocalypse* (as many fans were), consider *Extinction* your reward.

Five years after the Raccoon City disaster, the T-virus has irrevocably changed the world, transforming humans and animals alike into ravenous, zombified mutants and laying waste to the entire ecosystem. After she’s captured by Umbrella following the events of *Apocalypse*, Alice is subjected to genetic experiments that give her superhuman abilities (yes, really), including telekinesis, which sounds silly — it *is* silly — but also makes for some pretty awesome moments in the film.

Carlos and L.J. survived *Apocalypse* and are now traveling with Claire Redfield (Ali Larter), another key character from the games. Alice reunites with her old allies in the Nevada desert and convinces Claire to take them to Alaska after discovering a journal that suggests the area remains uninfected.

Alice squares off against both Umbrella’s head scientist, Dr. Isaacs (*Game of Thrones*’ Iain Glen) and its chairman, Albert Wesker (Jason O’Mara), a recurring antagonist in the games who appears in the film via hologram from the company’s headquarters in Tokyo.

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker in ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’.

For better or worse, Anderson returned to the director’s chair for the final three installments of the original film series, starting with *Resident Evil: Afterlife*. If you aren’t already on board with the mythology, the 2010 sequel represents a real tipping point; it only gets more convoluted from here!

Alice and an army of Alice clones created by Umbrella attack the company’s Tokyo office, slaughtering its personnel as they attempt to take down that pesky Wesker (now played by Shawn Roberts). Wesker escapes after destroying the facility and killing the clones, but the real Alice follows him aboard his aircraft, where he injects her with an antivirus that eliminates her superhuman abilities. Wesker has also injected himself with the T-virus in the hopes of gaining similar abilities.

*Afterlife* also introduces another popular character from the games, Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller), Claire’s brother. He joins Alice, his sister, and a band of survivors bent on taking Wesker down once and for all.

Jill Valentine, who hasn’t been seen since *Apocalypse*, returns in a mid-credits scene.

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

Milla Jovovich and Mika Nakashima in ‘Resident Evil: Retribution’.

*Resident Evil: Retribution* picks up where *Afterlife*’s mid-credits scene left off: Jill, fitted with an Umbrella mind-control device, is leading the corporation’s soldiers in a siege on Alice and her friends aboard the *Arcadia*. Alice is once again captured by Umbrella, which sticks her in an underwater facility in Russia where the company creates clones and runs them through outbreak simulations. Wesker claims that he’s no longer working for the Umbrella Corporation, which is now being controlled by a reactivated Red Queen.

*Retribution* has the most video game tie-ins of the franchise thus far, including the addition of characters Ada Wong (Li Bingbing) and Leon S. Kennedy (Johann Urb). The various outbreak simulations allow the movie to incorporate locations and narrative elements from the games, like zombies infected with Las Plagas, the parasite introduced in *Resident Evil 4*.

The underwater facility includes clones of fallen allies, who have been sent to capture Alice and Ada. Alice also encounters Becky, a child clone created as the daughter of an Alice clone for a suburban simulation. Got all that?

At the end of the film, Alice, a deprogrammed Jill, and the other survivors head to Wesker’s new headquarters at the White House (!), where he injects Alice with the T-virus yet again, restoring her abilities and setting the stage for — drumroll, please — *The Final Chapter*.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)

Ali Larter, Milla Jovovich, and Ruby Rose in ‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter’. Everett Collection

Unlike many a horror sequel released with a “final” title, *Resident Evil: The Final Chapter* is indeed the last installment for this particular iteration of the franchise. The sequel opens with the origin story of the T-virus, which you’ll appreciate if you’ve become invested in the series’ mythology — as you must be if you’ve made it this far.

In the present day, the Red Queen (played by Ever Anderson, the real-life daughter of Jovovich and director Paul W.S. Anderson) tells Alice that she has 48 hours to return to the Hive beneath the mansion in Raccoon City before Umbrella wipes out the last remaining human settlements. Inside the Hive is an airborne antivirus capable of destroying the T-virus, meaning this is likely Alice’s last stand.

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Back in Raccoon City, Alice is reunited with Claire and meets a group of new allies, including Abigail, played by Ruby Rose. Together, they infiltrate the Hive for a final showdown with Wesker and Isaacs, who reveals that it was his clone that Alice killed in *Extinction*.

As the Red Queen guides Alice deeper into the Hive, she finally learns the truth about her past — and Umbrella’s ultimate motives.

Resident Evil animated films

Biohazard 4D-Executer (2000)

A zombie in the CGI ‘Resident Evil’ animated film ‘Biohazard 4D-Executer’.

With a title like *Biohazard 4D-Executer*, it’s understandable if you had no idea this was a *Resident Evil* movie. The 20-minute animated film, rendered in CGI, centers on Umbrella’s specialized biohazard cleanup crew, comprised of Claus (Masaki Aizawa), Roger (Hiroto Torihata), Ed (Hideto Ebihara), Robert (Tadasuke Omizu), and Norman (Yoshiyuki Kaneko).

After the T-virus infects the citizens of Raccoon City, the crew is sent in to rescue Dr. Cameron (Yurika Hino), an Umbrella scientist conducting valuable research for the company. The animation, which wasn’t particularly great to begin with, has aged like moldy fruit, but the story is engaging and features a couple of surprising twists.

Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)

Zombies in ‘Resident Evil: Degeneration’.

*Resident Evil: Degeneration* is the first feature-length animated film in the franchise. The animation was created through motion-capture performances, with different actors providing the voices for the characters.

The story is set in 2005, when a T-virus attack forces an airport into lockdown. Among those trapped inside is Claire Redfield (Alyson Court), who now works with TerraSave, an organization that helps victims of bioterrorism. Claire teams up with officer Angela Miller (Laura Bailey) and federal agent Leon S. Kennedy (Paul Mercier), who reveals that a terrorist is threatening to unleash the T-virus across the United States unless the government officials involved in its creation are publicly identified.

With Leon and Angela’s help, Claire uncovers a conspiracy involving the government and a former Umbrella researcher.

Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)

Leon S. Kennedy in ‘Resident Evil: Damnation’.

*Resident Evil: Damnation* is a direct sequel to *Degeneration* that follows Leon S. Kennedy (now voiced by Matthew Mercer) to a former Soviet republic, where there are reports of bio-organic weapons being used amid a brutal civil war.

After defying orders to evacuate, Leon crosses paths with Ada Wong (Courtenay Taylor), who is in the country undercover to retrieve a sample of Las Plagas, which rebel fighters are using to control deadly bio-organic weapons called Lickers.

*Resident Evil: Vendetta *(2017)

An infected zombie in ‘Resident Evil: Vendetta’.

In *Resident Evil: Vendetta*, BSAA agent Chris Redfield’s (Kevin Dorman) mission to rescue an undercover source in Mexico is thwarted by Arias (John DeMita), an arms dealer with a vendetta — and an army of zombies. A few months later, Professor Rebecca Chambers (Erin Cahill) is studying a new and complex virus known as the “Animality” or A-virus and manages to develop a vaccine, inoculating herself just before the virus is released in her lab.

Chris and Rebecca enlist a reluctant Leon S. Kennedy to help them stop Arias, who is planning to unleash the virus in a major terrorist attack on New York City.

Resident Evil: Death Island (2023)

Leon S. Kennedy in ‘Resident Evil: Death Island’.

*Resident Evil: Death Island* finds Leon S. Kennedy sent to San Francisco in pursuit of DARPA researcher Antonio Taylor, who is suspected of selling classified information to foreign adversaries but has been kidnapped by unknown assailants. Leon’s mission intersects with a case being investigated by Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers, a BSAA advisor who has discovered 12 people who died after apparently being forcibly infected with an advanced strain of the T-virus.

Chris enlists his former partner Jill Valentine (Nicole Tompkins), who is still struggling with the trauma of being under Albert Wesker’s mind control, as depicted in *Resident Evil 5*. Together, the group also recruits Chris’ sister, Claire (Stephanie Panisello), who has been conducting her own investigation off the coast of San Francisco.

Their separate cases eventually lead them to Alcatraz Island, where they uncover a sinister bioweapons conspiracy involving an infected orca (!), a zombie kaiju (!!), and Dylan Blake, a new villain who has taken control of Arias’ criminal organization.

Resident Evil live-action reboots

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield in ‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City’. Shane Mahood

In 2021, Sony released *Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City*, a live-action reboot directed by Johannes Roberts (2025’s *Primate*) and largely based on the first two video games. Set in 1998, the film follows Claire Redfield (Kaya Scodelario), who uncovers the Umbrella Corporation’s disturbing biological research and tries to warn her brother Chris (Robbie Amell), just as a deadly virus begins turning the residents of Raccoon City into zombies.

Chris and a team of S.T.A.R.S. agents, including Jill Valentine (Hannah John-Kamen) and Albert Wesker (Tom Hopper), are sent to a nearby mansion where a previous team went missing while investigating a death. Meanwhile, Claire and local cop Leon S. Kennedy (Avan Jogia) follow Umbrella’s trail to a top-secret lab connected to the mansion. Lily Gao, who later voiced Ada Wong in the 2023 remake of *Resident Evil 4*, makes her live-action debut as the character in a mid-credits scene.

Resident Evil (2026)

Austin Abrams in ‘Resident Evil’ (2026).

Courtesy of Sony Pictures

That brings us to 2026 and the Sept. 18 release of *Resident Evil*, the live-action reboot from *Weapons* and *Barbarian* (2022) director Zach Cregger. Cowritten with Shay Hatten, the movie follows Bryan (Abrams), a medical courier who is transporting a package to a hospital in Raccoon City.

Though it uses the 1998 game *Resident Evil 2 *as a jumping-off point, Cregger’s film is set in the present day and isn’t meant to be a direct adaptation. “This movie doesn’t take place in the ’90s when *Resident Evil 2 *came out,” Cregger said during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con. “It takes place in the snow in 2026. That’s why [Abrams’ character] has an iPhone. Because I took liberties to tell a story I wanted to tell and make the movie look the way I wanted to make it look.”

According to Cregger, his ultimate goal was evoking the vibe of playing the classic games. “*Resident Evil* is a survival horror, not a survival action,” he continued. “[Bryan’s] not a badass going around and karate kicking these zombies. It’s more intense, grounded dread, tone and atmosphere. One of the things those games do so well is that they lay out such a distinct and effective atmosphere. And so, I feel like to me, what makes this a real love letter to those games is I’m trying to replicate that.”

Cregger’s film does feature several elements from the games, including the typewriter, “Heavy Field” shotgun shells, and plenty of zombies and creatures mutated by the virus, which the filmmaker confirmed is indeed the T-virus. “If you don’t do that, for me, it’s not *Resident Evil*,” Cregger said.

The Resident Evil movies in order by release date

**Paul W.S. Anderson’s live-action franchise:**

- *Resident Evil* (2002)

- *Resident Evil: Apocalypse* (2004)

- *Resident Evil: Extinction* (2007)

- *Resident Evil: Afterlife* (2010)

- *Resident Evil: Retribution* (2012)

- *Resident Evil: The Final Chapter* (2016)

**Animated films:**

- *Biohazard 4D-Executer* (2000)

- *Resident Evil: Degeneration* (2008)

- *Resident Evil: Damnation* (2012)

- *Resident Evil: Vendetta* (2017)

- *Resident Evil: Death Island* (2023)

**Live-action reboots:**

- *Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City* (2021)

- *Resident Evil* (2026)

- Horror Movies

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Horror”