After a long wait, Sony, Constantin Films, and Screen Gems finally unveiled the first preview trailer of the upcoming film,Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. Releasing on November 24, the forthcoming movie promises to be a faithful adaptation of theResident Evilvideo game franchise made by Capcom.
Judging by the trailer, it appears that the movie is indeed more faithful compared to the existingResident Evilfilm franchise. Throughout the preview, players will see several references from theResident Evilvideo games,such as the main hall of the Spencer Mansion, the R.P.D., the first zombie scene, and many more. However, eagle-eyed fans probably noticed a specific easter egg in the trailer, suggesting that the sequel toResident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City(if there’s going to be one) could follow the events ofResident Evil: Code Veronica.
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Claire Appears To Have a Bigger Role Out of All The Main Game Characters
As teased before, all four primary characters of theResident Evilvideo game franchise, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Leon Kennedy, and Claire Redfield, are playing significant roles in the film. However, the way the trailer was presented, it appears thatClaire Redfield will be playing a more prominent role, and the preview confirmed that her story would be drastically different compared to the video games.
It is worth remembering that in theResident Evil 2game, the reason Claire visited Raccoon City was to search for her brother Chris. However, the trailer shows that Claire and Chris are already together, and a specific scene in the trailer makes it appear that Claire is the one convincing Chris aboutthe bioweapons research of Umbrella. This suggests that Claire already has this critical information before the Raccoon City outbreak.
It remains a mystery how Claire obtained this information about Umbrella before Chris. But, it is possible that the dialogue between the siblings could be referring to something else that is yet to be revealed. Whatever it may be, the trailer heavily suggests that Claire will play a significant role in the upcoming film, which is why it wouldn’t be surprising if the sequel will be based onResident Evil: Code Veronica.
Resident Evil: Code Veronica Reference
Apart from Claire’s bigger role, a particular easter egg in the trailer supports theCode Veronicatheory. In one scene,Claire and Leonare seen watching a roll of film that is made similar to the one showing the Ashford twins Claire saw inResident Evil: Code Veronica.Although it is difficult to figure out why the film is in Raccoon City and why William Birkin is there, the trailer did confirm that the film reel is about the twins, given that the camera panned to a film case labeled “Ashford Twins.”
For the uninitiated, Alfred andAlexia Ashfordare descendants of Edward Ashford, one of the founders of the Umbrella Corporation. The twins served as the main villains inResident Evil: Code Veronica, which occurred several months after the destruction of Raccoon City. Given thatResident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon Cityalready covers the Mansion Incident and the Raccoon City outbreak,Code Veronicais the natural sequel if the film franchise follows the timeline of the video games. But, of course, this could mean that the film may be skippingResident Evil 3.
What About Resident Evil 3?
Although Jill Valentine is present inResident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, the trailer doesn’t show any scenes referring to her escape from the city, nor her encounter with the iconic Nemesis, as chronicled inResident Evil 3.Based on the video game franchise’s lore,Resident Evil 3occurred before and afterResident Evil 2. Giventhat the movie also revolves around the second game,RE3’s story may already be integrated into the film. However, there is one problem with this theory, given that the trailer makes it appear that the Mansion Incident (RE1) and the Raccoon City outbreak (RE2andRE3) are happening simultaneously.
Assuming that this is true, there is no way that Jill could be in Raccoon City, given that the trailer clearly shows her in the Spencer Mansion with Chris andother members of S.T.A.R.S.Of course, the movie may revolve around the Raccoon City outbreak, and the scenes showing the Mansion Incident are flashbacks. However, this doesn’t explain why Chris is unaware of Umbrella’s involvement and why Claire had to convince him of the corporation’s evil plot.
In the end, it remains to be seen whetherResident Evil 3and the iconic Nemesis will be depicted in the upcoming movie. However, based on the trailer showing Claire’s bigger role and the subtle reference about the Ashford twins, it is possible that the sequel toResident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon Citymay chronicle the events ofResident Evil: Code Veronica,which is a good thing sinceaCode Veronicaremakemay not be Capcom’s priority right now.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon Citypremieres on June 12, 2025.
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