Much like its counterpart in the video-game world, you just can’t keep the Resident Evil movie franchise down. Speaking at the Beijing International Film Festival, series director Paul W.S. Anderson revealed the title of the upcoming sixth installment of the franchise, Resident Evil Rising, and confirmed that the next film will be a 3D production. He also indicated that Chinese actress Bingbing Li will return as Ada Wong after her debut in 2012’s Resident Evil: Retribution.
“As you know, Bingbing is in the last movie and she will be there again,” Anderson told the audience during the festival’s 3D Film Summit event.
It should be noted that the original article refers to the upcoming Retribution follow-up as “Rising Resident Evil,” though it’s likely that’s just a translation error.
While the sixth Resident Evil film was originally slated for a September 2014 premiere in theaters, that schedule seems unlikely given the lack of any production on the project up to this point. Anderson was confirmed as the director back in March 2013, and it’s expected that franchise star Milla Jovovich will return as Alice. Last year, Jovovich indicated that she expected a 2015 release for the film. Beyond Jovovich and Bingbing, there haven’t been any additional casting announcements.
During the event, Anderson said the upcoming Resident Evil sequel will “definitely be in 3D,” and cited China’s embrace of the 3D format as a key driver in that area of filmmaking.
“I think China has an amazing opportunity that 3D is still alive and well here, and people still pay to the cinema and go see it,” he told the audience. “I think you should really cherish that.”
