When does Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness take place? Timeline explained
The new anime series is the latest addition to a franchise that already includes multiple games and films.
It's safe to say that the Resident Evil timeline is slightly confusing – what with numerous films, video games, and now a brand new anime series on Netflix.
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness stars popular game characters Leon S Kennedy and Claire Redfield as they team up to investigate a zombie outbreak, and it is actually set in the same timeline as the games.
If you're wondering exactly how the events of the new four-part series fit into that timeline then we have you covered – read on for everything you need to know.
When does Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness take place?
The main characters in the new series, Leon and Claire, are fan-favourites who were first introduced in Resident Evil 2 – but whereas that game took place in 1998, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is set almost a decade later, in 2006.
Chronologically, this places it between Resident Evil 4 and 5 in the timeline, but the events from those two games don't have too much relevance to the new series, so there's no need to get too concerned with having played all the games beforehand.
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The series also includes a handful of flashback scenes that take place in the fictional war-torn country of Penamstan – with these scenes taking place in 2000, after Resident Evil 3 but before 4.
Other than the two leads, most of the characters are not connected to the games, including the new federal agent protagonist Shen May.
As for where the series fits in with the live-action movies, it's harder to say – the films have always taken a rather different tack to the games, and indeed the main character Alice was created specifically for the film franchise.
That said, the upcoming live-action film Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City, does include Leon and Claire in a story set in 1998, although naturally, it's hard to say exactly how that ties into the new series given the film hasn't yet been released.
And to confuse things further there's also the matter of the animated films – which are more closely linked narratively to the games.
Chronologically, Infinite Darkness follows on from the events of Resident Evil: Degeneration, which was released in 2008 and 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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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
