Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness release date - Trailer, cast for animated Netflix series

First up is anime action series Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, which will delight purists as it actually takes place in the same universe as the games - and features several fan-favourite characters from the survival horror series.

Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield will be reuniting following their iconic pairing in Resident Evil 2, with new images from Netflix giving us a better glimpse of Claire as well as new character Shen May.

The three of them will be fending off a zombie attack in the White House of all places - here's everything you need to know about Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness release date

It's nearly here - Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is scheduled for release on Netflix on Thursday 8th July 2021.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness trailer

A teaser for Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness dropped last September, with the official trailer arriving more recently in May. Here, Leon is seen trying to navigate his way through the catastrophe, while the clip ends with a rather menacing threat, "I will show you fear!" from a monstrous villain. The full trailer can be seen here:

Netflix has also released the opening scene of the series, which very much feels like Black Hawk Down with zombies:

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness cast

Leon and Claire are played by returning actors Nick Apostolides and Stephanie Panisello, who also voiced the characters in Resident Evil 2.

A variety of accomplished voice actors join them in Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, including Ray Chase, who provides the voice for Jason, and previously featured in the Pokémon TV series.

Completing the cast are Doug Stone (Ryan), Jona Xiao (Shen May) and Billy Kametz (Patrick), as well as Brad Venable (Wilson) and Joe J. Thomas (Graham).

How is Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness linked to the games?

As well as featuring the same two leading actors from the Resident Evil 2 remake, the series does cross-over with the Resident Evil games.

Images from Netflix show that Claire Redfield will be donning an outfit similar to the one she wore in the Resident Evil 2 remake and spin-off Resident Evil Revelations 2.

The Infinite Darkness timeline occurs much later than that Resident Evil 2's setting of 1998, with the series taking place in 2006. It's set between the events of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5.

However other than the two leads, most of the characters are not connected to the games, including new federal agent protagonist Shen May who is also pictured in the promotional images from Netflix.

There will be a few unrecognisable names in Infinite Darkness therefore - and as they don't appear in future games, they may well end up as zombie fodder...

How is Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness linked to the movies?

The Resident Evil movies are known for being of a considerably different style to the games franchise they are based upon. The protagonist for the first six movies was Alice, who was created especially for the films.

The seventh instalment, Welcome to Racoon City, does include Infinite Darkness protagonists Leon and Claire in a 1998 origin story. The movie isn't due for release until November 2021, but may well provide links to the Infinite Darkness series.

There may also be references to previous animated Resident Evil films, which unlike their live-action counterparts are considered canon - chronologically Infinite Darkness will follow Resident Evil: Degeneration, which saw Leon and Claire investigate a zombie attack at Havardville airport.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness streams on Netflix from Thursday 8th July. Take a look at our guides to the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix.

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