A Chronological Guide to the Resident Evil Films
The Resident Evil film franchise is a sprawling and complex beast, branching into multiple continuities that adapt the iconic survival horror video games in very different ways. The central premise remains the same: the sinister Umbrella Corporation's bio-weapons, most notably the T-virus, are unleashed upon the world, triggering a zombie apocalypse and creating horrifying mutations.
The film universe is primarily split into two main timelines. The first is the six-film live-action series directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich as the original character, Alice. The second is the canonical CGI animated series, which exists in the same universe as the video games and follows beloved game characters like Leon S. Kennedy, Chris Redfield, and Jill Valentine.
Because these timelines are separate, they must be viewed independently. This guide organizes all the films from both major continuities, plus the standalone reboot, into their in-universe chronological order.
The Live-Action Alice Saga
This six-film series follows its own unique storyline centered on the original character Alice. The films should be watched in their release order.
Resident EvilFilm (2002)
The story begins. Alice awakens in a mansion with amnesia and is swept up by a team of Umbrella commandos. They are sent into "The Hive," a secret underground research facility beneath Raccoon City. The facility's AI, the Red Queen, has sealed the lab and killed everyone inside after the T-virus was released. The team must battle zombified researchers and mutated creatures to shut down the rogue AI. The film ends with Alice as the sole survivor, awakening in a ravaged Raccoon City, revealing the infection has escaped.
Resident Evil: ApocalypseFilm (2004)
Picking up directly after the first film, Alice must navigate the zombie-infested Raccoon City before it is sanitized by a nuclear missile. She teams up with classic game characters Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira. They are hunted by Umbrella's ultimate bio-weapon, the Nemesis - a heavily mutated version of Alice's former teammate. Alice discovers she has been infected with the T-virus, granting her superhuman abilities, and the film ends with her being captured and experimented on by the Umbrella Corporation.
Resident Evil: ExtinctionFilm (2007)
Years later, the T-virus has ravaged the entire globe, turning the world into a desert wasteland. Alice, now possessing powerful telekinetic abilities, roams the wasteland alone, trying to stay off Umbrella's radar. She joins a convoy of survivors led by Claire Redfield and Carlos Oliveira as they make their way toward a rumored safe haven in Alaska. The film introduces the evil Dr. Isaacs and his project to create an army of Alice clones, culminating in a major battle at an Umbrella facility in the Nevada desert.
Resident Evil: AfterlifeFilm (2010)
Alice and her clones launch an all-out assault on the Umbrella Corporation's headquarters in Tokyo, led by the sinister Albert Wesker. After a massive battle, Wesker escapes and neutralizes the T-virus in Alice's system, removing her powers. Following a clue, Alice travels to Los Angeles and finds a small group of survivors, including Chris Redfield, holed up in a prison surrounded by hordes of the undead. They must fight their way out to reach a supposed safe haven, a tanker ship called the Arcadia, only to find it is another Umbrella trap.
Resident Evil: RetributionFilm (2012)
Captured by Umbrella after the events of *Afterlife*, Alice awakens in a massive underwater testing facility in Russia. The facility contains multiple simulated environments (like New York, Moscow, and Tokyo) used to demonstrate the T-virus's effectiveness to potential buyers. Alice is forced to fight her way through these simulated apocalypses, battling clones of her former allies and enemies, all controlled by the Red Queen AI. She is aided by Ada Wong and a rogue Albert Wesker, who now seek her help to stop the AI from wiping out the last remnants of humanity.
Resident Evil: The Final ChapterFilm (2016)
The saga concludes. Alice learns that Umbrella has developed an airborne anti-virus that can destroy every organism infected by the T-virus. She must return to where it all began: The Hive beneath Raccoon City. In a race against time, she battles Dr. Isaacs and Albert Wesker for the final time and uncovers the ultimate truth about her own origins - that she herself is a clone of Alicia Marcus, the daughter of the Umbrella founder. The film ends with Alice releasing the anti-virus, though the fate of the world is left on a final, ambiguous note.
The Animated Canon Timeline (Game Universe)
This series of CGI films and shows are canonical to the video game universe, featuring the games' main characters and storylines.
Resident Evil: DegenerationCGI Film (2008)
Timeline: 2005 (one year after *Resident Evil 4*). Seven years after the Raccoon City incident, a terrorist unleashes the T-virus in an airport. The film reunites two of the game's most iconic heroes, U.S. federal agent Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, now a member of the human rights organization TerraSave. They must work together to contain the new outbreak and uncover a conspiracy involving a corrupt pharmaceutical company.
Resident Evil: Infinite DarknessCGI Series (2021)
Timeline: 2006. Set between *Degeneration* and *Damnation*, this four-episode series sees Leon S. Kennedy investigating a hacking incident at the White House. At the same time, Claire Redfield is investigating a new bio-weapon outbreak in a war-torn country. Their separate investigations converge, uncovering a high-level government conspiracy tied to the use of bio-weapons.
Resident Evil: DamnationCGI Film (2012)
Timeline: 2011. Leon S. Kennedy is sent into the war-torn Eastern slavic Republic to investigate rumors of Bio-Organic Weapons (B.O.W.s) being used in their civil war. He discovers that both sides are using Plaga-controlled soldiers. The story introduces Ada Wong into the animated timeline and features intense action as Leon battles Lickers and other advanced B.O.W.s, further exposing the global black market for bio-weaponry.
Resident Evil: VendettaCGI Film (2017)
Timeline: 2014. This film brings together three legendary game protagonists: Chris Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy, and Rebecca Chambers. They must stop Glenn Arias, a former CIA operative turned bio-terrorist, from unleashing a new "A-virus" in New York City that can distinguish between friend and foe. The film is known for its highly stylized, action-packed sequences inspired by "gun-fu" cinema.
Resident Evil: Death IslandCGI Film (2023)
Timeline: 2015. For the first time, all of the major heroes of the game series unite. Jill Valentine, now recovered from her past trauma, investigates a new zombie outbreak in San Francisco. Her investigation leads her and Chris Redfield to Alcatraz Island, where they must team up with Leon, Claire, and Rebecca to stop a new villain with a personal vendetta and a plan to unleash his own strain of the T-virus upon the world.
The Standalone Reboot
This film is a complete reboot of the franchise, separate from both previous timelines, aiming for a more faithful adaptation of the first two video games.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon CityFilm (2021)
Timeline: 1998. This film simultaneously adapts the storylines of the first and second *Resident Evil* games. It follows Claire Redfield as she returns to her hometown of Raccoon City to warn her brother, Chris, about the evil of the Umbrella Corporation. Her arrival coincides with the full-blown T-virus outbreak. The story cuts between Claire and rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy trying to survive the infested police station, and Chris Redfield's S.T.A.R.S. team investigating the creepy, zombie-filled Spencer Mansion in the Arklay Mountains.
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