The Big Picture

• Resident Evil has resonated with fans for nearly 30 years, with its expansion from video games to films and television series.
• The newest animated movie, Death Island, follows D.S.O. agent Leon S. Kennedy and B.S.A.A. agent Chris Redfield as they face new horrors.
• The writers and voice actors of the Resident Evil franchise feel a responsibility to maintain the quality and legacy of the characters, while also adding new elements to keep the audience engaged.

This interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA Strike.For nearly 30 years, Resident Evil has held a prominent place in the hearts and minds of horror fans. What started as a series of video games soon blossomed into the world of live-action and animated films, television series, and more. In the newest animated Resident Evil movie, Resident Evil: Death Island, D.S.O. agent Leon S. Kennedy is on a mission to rescue Dr. Antonio Taylor from kidnappers, when a mysterious woman thwarts his pursuit. Meanwhile, B.S.A.A. agent Chris Redfield is investigating a zombie outbreak in San Francisco, where the cause of the infection cannot be identified. The only thing the victims have in common is that they all visited Alcatraz Island recently. Following that clue, Chris and his team head to the island, where a new horror awaits them.

Before the SAG strike, Drumpe’s Steve Weintraub hosted a screening of Death Island followed by a Q&A with cast members Matthew Mercer and Nicole Tompkins, the film’s writer Makoto Fukami and director Eiichirô Hasumi, as well as Capcom’s Masachika Kawata. The group discuss the making of the latest film, and the legacy of the franchise as it enters its third decade, and what being part of the Resident Evil franchise means to all of them.

Resident Evil: Death Island will be released on Blu-ray, 4K Steelbook, Digital and DVD July 25. The special features include Genesis of Death Island, Jill Valentine: The Return, Motion Capture Set Tour, Designing Death Island, Voicing Death Island, The Birth of Death Island, and Design Gallery.

Editor’s Note: Masachika Kawata, Makoto Fukami and Eiichirô Hasumi answered with the help of Tony Ishizuka, SVP International Acquisitions at Sony acting as a translator. Answers have been edited for clarity.

STEVE WEINTRAUB: Masachika, I’m starting with you. You’ve been working on the Resident Evil franchise at Capcom for a very long time. What do you think it is about this world and these characters that has resonated with so many people around the world for so long?

MASACHIKA KAWATA: It’s very much thanks to [the] fan base’s passion that made us continue this franchise. So it’s been almost three decades and it’s thanks to the fans loving all the characters.

One of the things though, you have a great responsibility to make sure that the franchise doesn’t go off the rails. Can you talk about the responsibility you feel to, you know, maintain the quality and to take care of these characters?

KAWATA: So, the game series has been continuing [for a long time]. But also the game system has been advancing so much. So the technology has been advancing and they had to update all the time. But while updating, Capcom has been trying to renovate and innovate things and to continue doing the franchise now. So the character has been aging too, but you guys are like aging together and it’s, you know, the franchise has been continuing very [for] long.

Makoto, I’m curious, can you talk a little bit about how you came up with the story and setting for this film, and whose decision was it to include all the characters? Because you include so many key characters from the franchise.

MAKOTO FUKAMI: First, I can’t speak English, sorry [laughter] The series has been sustained so long, and then we wanted to have a big climax.

Now, you co-wrote the last film of I believe, Vendetta. What did you learn writing that, that you wanted to apply to this one?

FUKAMI: I think we didn’t have enough jokes. So I increased the jokes, but I think it was not enough, even [in] this one. So I want to do more next time, still keeping the horror element. An action [movie], not just a pure comedy.

I didn’t think you were trying to make a comedy, I didn’t get that vibe. Matt, I’m gonna ask you, you’ve been working what do you love about actually the world of Resident Evil and being able to voice this character because as I said earlier, this is a franchise that means so much to so many people.

MATTHEW MERCER: I mean, I grew up with Resident Evil. I remember coming home from high school and playing the first one for the Playstation at a friend’s house. And so being, being a person that loved each of these games and then to be able to take on the mantle of Leon S. Kennedy was a huge honor and to work with so many wonderful people to bring these stories to life and to bring my personal flavor while paying homage to what came before me has been just something that I will carry with me the rest of my life.

So it means a lot to me, and I’m excited to see where it goes from here. I’m excited to see all the classic people that continue to bring the story to life, all the new voices that come up to bring it to life, the people that I have the honor to pass the torch on to. All in all I’m very thankful and very grateful to have been a part of this. So it means a lot to me.

Nicole, same thing for you. What does it mean to be part of this world? That means so much to so many people and being able to voice Jill.

NICOLE TOMPKINS: I mean, it’s an absolute unbelievable pleasure. It’s a dream come true and a joy. Such an iconic character for so long. So really saying getting to kind of step into the shoes of someone that’s been portrayed for so many years and kind of bring myself and my iteration with the trust of an amazing team that brings it to life. It’s just truly a pleasure and the fans are unreal. They’re just amazing.

The number of stories that I’ve heard from multigenerational fans of what these characters mean to them is so special. I get access to stories and people in a way that I never thought…you know, you kind of do the work, and then it comes back to you in ways that are really unexpected and beautiful. So I’m very grateful.

MERCER: Internationally too. There are a few franchises, I’ve been a part of that have such a worldwide reach as Resident Evil people from all over the world engage with this story and these characters. It’s incredible.

Another question for the two of you, What do you think would surprise Resident Evil fans to learn about the voice recording of a Resident Evil movie like this?

MERCER: Whatcha got?

TOMPKINS: What would surprise you?

MERCER: I’m curious.

TOMPKINS: I mean, I don’t know how surprising this would be, but we have a lot of fun and especially when you script jokes into it, but we make a lot of jokes as well. And I think any time you’re working in horror genre as well, people that are doing really scary stuff tend to have the most fun on set because the more intense it ends up looking in the end, the more ridiculous it looks when we shoot it, or when we record it because we’re, you know, either screaming in a soundproof room or wearing ridiculous suits or something. So, they, they really do all of the magic. We just get to show up and have fun.

MERCER: There’s definitely a lot of silly bloopers that we get to experience in the booth and, I guess one thing you might find interesting if you aren’t aware, a lot of the combat scenes in here, we’re making every grunt, every impact sound, every pain reaction, which is a very physically taxing experience. You may not understand so many of us are very sweaty, very exhausted and very terrifying people to be around by the time we finish a lot of these recording sessions. [in character] “Are we good? We done? We finished?”

TOMPKINS: The breathing, the breathing. No one realizes like every time just like checking out all the things in every room we sat there and breathed for minutes on end.

What’s funny is recording those efforts, I don’t think people realize, do you, do they make you wait till the end of the day to do those, to do those efforts or is it first thing in the morning?

MERCER: I think it depends on how big the excerpts are.

TOMPKINS: Also I think it depends on the actor sometimes they’re like, “do you want to do it first or do you want to do it later?” I’m like, “how hard do we have to die or fall or shoot or something?”

MERCER: If it’s screaming on fire for three minutes, I’ll be like, at the end, they’ll do it at the end. But yeah, the, the gentle breathing or holding your breath, we can do that for whatever we’ll start with that one. That’d be easy.

Eiichirô, this is a question for you. One of the things about this is you get to play with all these characters that mean so much to so many people. What were the challenges during the production of making sure everyone had screen time and making sure it would honor the franchise?

EIICHIRÔ HASUMI: So this is of course, the five characters all get together, and then I wanted to make sure that because each character has a fan base, so that each fan got to sort of enjoy this movie. So I made sure that each character stands out.

One of the things about the Resident Evil franchise is people love the creatures and the monsters. So, how did you come up with the creatures for this film? And specifically without spoilers in the third act, there is a big monster. So talk a little bit about coming up with this.

HASUMI: So the last creatures that the B.O.W, the shark that fuses with Dylan, that one, the design was already in the early stage, where it’s kind of like set with the fin and the kind of creepy skin like shark. But then, the size was something that we were struggling [with] and looking into because the whole set of that armory, you have to decide the size of the armory, and you have to decide how these ceilings fall off, that kind of stuff. So the sizes were changing all the time and it became kind of bigger than expected.

I’m gonna ask you a follow up. There’s always a shot or two or a sequence that directors, I’ve heard, go back to repeatedly because they’re just not 100% happy, which was the scene or sequence that you spent extra time on because you wanted it to be perfect.

HASUMI: The thing is, I’m mainly a live action director, and this is the only second time working on CG animation since Infinite Darkness. But the way I want to work is with motion capture actors, and the crew, and kind of build the whole movie together, and work together to build certain scenes. So it worked well with the ensemble effort. There are two difficult things to do in CGI: one is somebody eating something, that seems it very difficult. And the other thing is water: with water, inside water, that kind of stuff. I was told not to do that, but you saw it, we did it. So I was first listening to the producer and not spending the money and not doing the water scene, but actually the art directors and the staff really wanted to do [it]. So we decided to go for it and had to convince the producer to do it. So it worked well.

I have a question for you then. What is it like when filmmakers come to you with something like that, when you know, this is going to cost money to do? Because this, you know, what is that like? What is that conversation?

TONY ISHIZUKA: Am I supposed to comment on that? [laughter]

I’m bringing you in!

ISHIZUKA: I mean, I generally say yes. Generally as long as I’m able to convince my big boss, yes.

This is a question for everyone who wants to answer. There have been many Resident Evil games. Which is your personal favorite? And why? And this is whoever wants to answer.

FUKAMI: Resident Evil 4 Remake is the best. Playing the game is actually work for [me] so it’s perfect.

KAWATA: I made it myself, but I love The Village.

ISHIZUKA: Hasumi-san doesn’t want to comment [laughter].

TOMPKINS: Because he makes all of them! I just finished RE4: Remake and it was amazing. It was really, really good. I really enjoyed it, but I have to say I’m pretty biased to the ones that I’m in.

MERCER: I mean, the original four for the GameCube was the one that kind of really solidified the entire franchise for me. I love them all. But at four, I was like, this is really a movement in gaming and then the remake even just elevates it even further. So yeah, kind of with you on that.

What, what do you think it is though that, that pulls so many people in because it’s so popular, and it’s been so popular for so long.

MERCER: I think it’s a testament to the fact that it, it kind of adjusted the mood of what was expected of the classic kind of survival horror genre. It really kind of paid a deeper attention to the solitary storytelling of a character in a place they’re unfamiliar with, with a number of unique twists on the classic kind of virus zombie storytelling, and some great gameplay mechanics like it just, it really brought a lot of things that were fresh to a genre that everyone was kind of contemplating how it was going to stay unique and fresh.

And then the remake just continued to elevate it on every level, from cinematics to improved gameplay, to treating the storytelling with so much respect and, and yeah, II I can go on for a while but yeah, I think those are a handful of the examples.

Masachika, I’m not sure if you will answer this or what you can say, but there’s a lot of Resident Evil fans in this audience. What can you tease besides this movie for the future of Resident Evil? Whether it be in TV, movies, video games? What would you like to tease?

ISHIZUKA: Yeah, he doesn’t want to answer in detail because I can’t translate, but he’s gonna answer some. [laughter]

KAWATA: So the franchise is going to have it’s 30th birthday in 2026. So basically I’m planning a lot of stuff, but you have to look forward to it within a few years time frame. But that’s all I can say.

I think that’s a very nice tease to let people know that you guys are planning some cool stuff for the 30th anniversary.

KAWATA: I’m planning whatever that’s gonna please you. Details are secret.

Thank you for indulging that. I wanna make sure if there’s anyone in the audience who has a question that they can ask or I can continue. Does anyone have any questions?

AUDIENCE MEMBER 1: My question is for Mr. Mercer. So in an interview, you said you were incredibly excited, and there was the at the peak of your career when you got cast for Resident Evil 6 to play Leon. Coming back later after the explosion of Critical Role and getting into all these other characters over the years that so many people love, what challenges, if any, did you face in that role, and getting back into this character?

MERCER: That’s a good question. Stepping into the role of Leon really was a shift in trajectory for my career. I think it brought not just like attention to me as a performer, but it gave me an opportunity to be part of something that was very important to me as a gamer, as a person that loves these stories and these games. So all these years, it’s been a wonderful experience to step into these shoes every chance I have as the years have gone on, and other projects have grown and become their own unique behemoths.

This series and this character has always meant something very, very dear to me and to be perfectly honest, when I, you know, pass the torch on to Nick and watch the remakes and just become something even more incredible as it goes on, I never expected to come back. I thought that was over and trying not to be emotional. I was very surprised and excited at the opportunity to step back into these shoes another time.

And so I say the challenges for me are ensuring that I am both paying respect and homage to what I’ve had the opportunity to present before, to the people that came before me and to those who have come after me and just kind of, you know, enjoy the time that I have with this to bring whatever flavor I can to this and, and, and specific kind of joy. I hope people can take out of this and to have the opportunity to work with so many wonderful people, both on the production side on the cast and everything beyond. So, the challenge is just ensuring that I can enjoy the moment as much as I can.

AUDIENCE MEMBER 2: How is it for you to come on as Jill in Resident Evil 3, but to come back in Death Island, which is so far removed from that storyline. So, you know, we haven’t seen her since Resident Evil 5. How is it for you to be in such a pivotal moment for Jill’s journey and then to come back and have had so much character, so much that history that’s happened between now and that for you to, you know, show everyone again after so long?

TOMPKINS: It’s a great question and honestly, so special and very, very cool because obviously when I’m stepping into RE3, she’s already got PTSD and struggling from the trauma from the mansion incident and, and her training and everything that came before. But she’s still relatively in the beginning of her journey in so many ways. So, you know, jumping into that was its own fun challenge and then getting to come see her almost present day so much later after all of the other stuff that she’s been through with Wesker and the mind control and, and everything else.

It was a unique challenge, but it really was kind of like the actor’s journey of like, yeah, just doing my research, like “where are we at? What’s happened? What would still be influencing her at this moment?” And then obviously, I’m just surrounded by a team that is incredibly supportive to be like “this, oh, this detail” and so kind of culminating all of those things and going, “ok, great, well given everything that she’s been through…” and what she’s looking at this story in so many ways is looking at Jill, still coping with drama. Well? Not well? Up for you to decide, but it’s really beautiful to watch her kind of reintegrate with this team. So it was really special because I got to come to this with even more history and more depth of everything that this character has been through throughout her entire existence. So that’s so special for me.

I have a question for the filmmakers if I can just do something real quick. One of the things I’m curious about for the Resident Evil franchise in a movie like this. In America, oftentimes there’s so many committees that are involved in making decisions for an IP that’s incredibly popular. So I’m just curious, like for you guys, what is it like behind the scenes in terms of when you’re writing a screenplay, how many people do you have to appease? What is it like behind the scenes and how much freedom do you have to, you know, do what you want to do?

ISHIZUKA: It’s a difficult question for [Hasumi] and me too.

KAWATA: So the answer is it’s a big struggle, of course, and there’s a lot of things to do, but this time, I think we could do a great job, 100%, to have everybody agree and then please you guys. Everybody agreed, from CAPCOM’s point of view, Fukami-san and Hasumi-san could do their own thing, and they didn’t really control.

FUKAMI: The producers were saying “OK” [all the time] and brought a lot of money, and I was having fun with Hasumi-san.

ISHIZUKA: I guess I have to change my mindset.

HASUMI: There’s a sort of, handbook with all these like, timing and what’s happened, like a long history of Resident Evil. So we were consulting that with CAPCOM so it was actually easy to make this legitimately canon to the game. Because there was a long, how do you call it, like a Bible. It was anonymous, but everybody wanted to please the fan base. So there wasn’t really a constraint in that case, it just everybody knew where to look and what to go for.

Yeah, I wasn’t trying to rock the boat. I was just curious what it’s like behind the scenes. I think we’re basically out of time, but can we do one more?

AUDIENCE MEMBER 3: I’ve got a question for all of you because you’ve got experience in entertainment business. I’d love to hear your thoughts in general on adaptations because there’s a lot of that going around and specifically what interests me is like from one medium to the other because your perspective and your focus is changing. And I was wondering if in general, any of you have any thoughts and what kind of decisions go into changing from one medium to the other, this specifically video game first-person perspective, but unfocused because you can go anywhere, to a film where it’s second person because the audience is second person but forced perspective, you’re railroading along the story and, and any thoughts or decisions that are interesting that you have to make in that translation.

FUKAMI: It’s such a difficult question that it’s gonna take days to actually explain.

TOMPKINS: An art form!

FUKAMI: That goes back to what is a movie actually?

KAWATA: So a game is important in that you actually experience with yourself. Whereas movies we see as being a lot of emotional things, and emotional information that you get in the emotion, it’s still experience, but it’s in a different way. Now if we start talking about, you know, like how you can transform each other, that’s a long story. But then again, this, we’re trying to have these two media sort of like approach.

HASUMI: So games or manga, it’s one personal experience. Whereas movies, like you’re gathered here, it’s a shared experience. And you think it’s something, like everybody can share. You’re a gamer, but you watch this movie and after enjoying this movie together, then you can actually go back to the game yourself, but it’s more of a shared experience.

Resident Evil: Death Island will be released on Blu-ray, 4K Steelbook, Digital and DVD July 25.