The first series was critically derided, but the canceled second season of Netflix's Resident Evil may just have saved it. Between the movies and Netflix's TV adaptation, there have been eight live-action attempts at Resident Evil. Of those many outings, only 2021 film reboot Welcome To Raccoon City came close to being a faithful adaptation of the original games. Pretty much none of these live-action Resident Evils have received good critical notices either, with the Netflix show being on the receiving end of some particularly scathing reviews over its lack of connection to the games, writing and performances.
This is despite the fact Resident Evil season 2 may have won over those turned off by the first year.
Netflix's Resident Evil Season 2 Was More Epic In Scope
While being interviewed for the First Aid Spray Podcast, Resident Evil VFX supervisor Kevin Lingenfelser detailed some behind-the-scenes issues on season 1 and the story breakdown of season 2's first episode. Season 2 would have picked up moments later from the season 1 finale. In 2022, Bert (the late, great Lance Reddick), young Jade (Tamara Smart) and Billie (Siena Agudong) would be seen fleeing from New Raccoon City to a wildlife preserve. Umbrella villain Evelyn (Paola Núñez) would have sent a Tyrant to retrieve them, which would have ripped an elephant in half during the chase. Eventually, the Tyrant is destroyed - by Chris Redfield and his Hound Wolf Squad.
Chris would have used a rocket launcher in the latter deed and would have been properly introduced in episode 2. On the other timeline, a wounded, adult Jade (Ella Balinska) would have been attacked by infected ravens after they fed on the corpse of the dead giant crocodile; she defeats them with a flamethrower. Lingenfelser claims Resident Evil season 2 story was essentially mapped out, with other highlights including a zombie takeover of the Burj Khalifa and an infected Bert transforming into a Licker. Lingenfelser ultimately felt the poor critical and fan response combined with the high cost led to Netflix pulling the plug on Resident Evil.
Netflix's Resident Evil Didn't Deserve The Hate
It sounds like Netflix's Resident Evil would have had a much bigger scope and integrated characters from the games into the story, with Ada Wong also set for an appearance. Maybe that would have won some skeptical viewers over, though its harsh critical reception may have already turned people away. Recurring complaints about Resident Evil included the timeline-hopping narrative and characters who make bad choices seemingly just to further the story. That said, Resident Evil didn't quite warrant the scorn it earned either; Reddick's multiple performances were all great, there were some inventive monster attack sequences and in its better moments, featured some intriguing remixing of franchise lore.
Source: First Aid Spray Podcast