Resident Evil: Death Island Screening Brings Together Fans and Cast

Fans of the 1996 horror franchise Resident Evil gathered for an early screening of the latest animated film in the series on July 12. Death Island brings together the video games' most recognizable characters for a thrilling mission filled with iconic zombies. Most notably, this movie marks the first onscreen interaction between leads Jill Valentine and Leon S. Kennedy. Continuing as the fifth installment of Resident Evil's animated universe, the movie pairs Resident Evil: Vendetta writer Makoto Fukami with the director of Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, Eiichirō Hasumi. Veteran producer Masachika Kawata joined them on stage to answer questions provided by Collider.

During the Q&A, voice actors Matthew Mercer (Leon) and Nicole Tompkins (Jill) participated as part of the English dub cast. In addition, Stephanie Panisello (Claire Redfield), Erin Cahill (Rebecca Chambers), Kevin Dorman (Chris Redfield), and Daman Mills (Dylan Blake) were also present in the audience.

The host kicked off the panel and asked producer Kawata for his opinion on what makes the CAPCOM franchise so timeless and relatable. “It's almost been almost three decades, but it's due to the fans and their love of the characters.” He has a tough job ensuring the franchise doesn't stray and maintains the quality of the characters. Considering the length of the IP, he shared there are internal structures and policies within CAPCOM to appropriately progress the characters alongside the games to meet the fans' expectations.

Turning to Fukami, he answered the question on everyone's mind, “Whose decision was it to include all these key characters?” He explained that because the series had gone on for so long, they wanted a big climax. As the co-writer of the previous film, Vendetta, he felt the last movie didn't have enough jokes, so he tried to incorporate more. Although he also felt that this one didn't either, so he would like to include more next time. Of course, he also kept the horror and action aspects in mind since the series is not a straight comedy.

Moving to the two voice actors, both Mercer and Tompkins were asked what they liked about the franchise and what it means to be able to voice their characters. They appreciated the opportunity to voice their respective characters and reach fans worldwide. Mercer previously retired as the voice of Leon but returned as part of this film.

“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, and the people that I have the honor to pass the torch on to,” Mercer said.

Considering their long histories with the game franchise, they shared the surprising detail of what happens behind the scenes. “The more intense it ends up looking in the end, the more ridiculous it looks when we shoot or record it,” said Tompkins. “We're either screaming in a soundproof room or wearing ridiculous suits.”

Mercer exchanged stories alongside Tompkins on their breathless takes. “There's a lot of silly bloopers that you get to experience in the booth. A lot of the combat scenes in here, we're making every grunt, every impact, and pain reaction, which is very physically taxing. Many of us are very sweaty, exhausted, and terrifying people to be around by the time you finish.” Sometimes they'll do these scenes at the beginning or end of the day, depending on how rigorous the scenario is.

The host then asked director Hasumi about the challenges of producing a movie and his approach to balancing each character's screen time. Knowing that each of the five characters had a large fanbase, he ensured each had time to shine. Resident Evil is known for its monsters; this film has a rather large one in the third act. “The last creature fuses with Dylan, and the outer design is like a shark,” explained Hasumi. “But the size was something we struggled with because of the set of the armory. We had to decide how the ceilings fall, so the sizes would change all the time and become bigger than expected.” Granted that many changes occurred throughout the production of the CGI film, there were sequences that he spent extra time on to perfect. “I'm mainly a live-action director, and this is the second time I worked on a CG animated movie.” He described that two things are difficult and expensive to animate in CGI: eating and water movement. “I was told that if a creature comes out of the water, I shouldn't show it going back in. But I did it anyway.” At first, he heeded the suggestion from the producers to be cost-effective, but the art directors and staff wanted to do it, so he had to negotiate.

To close the portion of the Q&A before fan questions, the panelists were asked what the fans could expect for the 30th anniversary of Resident Evil. There were no straight answers, as producer Kawata refrained from troubling the translator with a speculative reply. He told fans they can expect more surprises and to stay tuned.

Before the panel ended, some lucky fans could ask a limited number of questions to the speakers. One person was curious about how Mercer eased back into his old role as Leon. “Stepping into the role of Leon was a shift in trajectory for my career. To be perfectly honest, when I passed the torch on to Nick and watched the remakes become something even more incredible as it went on, I never expected to come back,” said Mercer. “I thought that was over. Right now, I'm trying not to be emotional, but I was very surprised and excited at the opportunity to step back into these shoes another time.” He wanted to make sure he paid respect and homage to the character he played before, the people who came before, and those who would come after him. “The challenge is just ensuring that I can enjoy the moment as much as I can.”

Tompkins was asked a similar question, as a lot has happened to Jill after the events of Resident Evil 3 Remake take place right before Death Island. “When I'm stepping into RE3, she's already got PTSD and is struggling from the trauma from the mansion incident. She's still relatively in the beginning of her journey in so many ways,” shared Tompkins. “Getting to come to see her in the present day was the actor's journey. Doing my research and what would still be influencing her at this moment. It's beautiful to watch her reintegrate with this team.”

Resident Evil: Death Island is available on Blu-ray, 4K Steelbook, Digital, and DVD on July 25.