There are loads of Resident Evil movies, but the animated film series is arguably the best of the bunch.
Resident Evil’s history in theatres is an odd one, standing as an enormous commercial success despite generally negative reviews. That’s owed to the live-action films, however. Coming out alongside these have been a number of animated Resident Evil films that directly tie into the video games.
While the live-action Resident Evil films only occasionally pay homage to the games, Capcom’s homemade animated films are firmly cemented within the universe. They also stood as solid video game film adaptations long before series like The Legend of Zelda and Death Stranding were getting major Hollywood pushes.
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Resident Evil animated movies and TV series watch order
There are four animated Resident Evil movies as well as a four-part miniseries that follow the stories of game protagonists Chris, Leon, Jill, and Claire. Here is the proper watch order:
- Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008)
- Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)
- Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017)
- Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness (2021)
- Resident Evil: Death Island (2023)
The films are Degeneration, Damnation, Vendetta, and Death Island, which take place between the games. The follow the stories of the games’ lead characters and showcase how they developed between games, highlighting Leon’s relationship with the White House, Chris and Jill founding the BSAA, and more. The Resident Evil animated films show that mutagenic virus outbreaks are a common occurrence after the events of Resident Evil 3.
While the Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness series is one of the most recent releases, the series is one of the earlier releases in the animated movie timeline. Infinite Dakness takes place following the events of Resident Evil: Degeneration and leads into the events of Damnation.
Resident Evil: Degeneration
Resident Evil: Degeneration kicks off following Claire Redfield, who finds herself in the middle of a T-virus outbreak at an airport. At the same time, Leon is investigating a terrorist group that is demanding the United States government reveal the politicians and officials who helped create the T-virus with the threat of starting more outbreaks.
This leads to Claire and Leon simultaneously looking to uncover the cause of the airport outbreak. Their reunion goes awry when they need to blast their way to safety.
Resident Evil: Damnation
Several years after the events of the Resident Evil 4 video game and the Degeneration animated movie, Leon returns to Europe to investigate an outbreak of the Las Plagas parasite. Complicating matters, this outbreak occurred during a civil war. This leads to him once again crossing paths with Ada Wong, who is looking to obtain a sample of Las Plagas.
The duo need to fight their way through both rank-and-file soldiers as well as hordes of Ganados. Central to the plot is discussion of how Ganados can be controlled, which explains some elements of Resident Evil 4 while being a key component of the other movies.
Resident Evil: Vendetta
Resident Evil: Vendetta adds former Resident Evil protagonists Chris and Rebecca to the animated movie series. Chris leads a raid at the home of a former CIA agent who is suspected of distributing biological weapons. Rebecca discovers that weapons are the new “A-virus,” a new mutagenic virus that can lay dormant before being deliberately activated.
Due to the A-virus’ similarity to Las Plagas, the pair look to Leon for help. When Rebecca is kidnapped, the search becomes a rescue mission.
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is a four-part mini-series that follows Leon and Claire. Set after the events of Resident Evil 4, Leon works as an operative for the White House but winds up in the middle of a simultaneous zombie outbreak and cyberattack. He is sent to China to investigate the incident alongside a pair of new allies.
The outbreak ties into research being done by Claire. While working for human rights groups, Claire finds evidence of bio-organic weapons related to a botched rescue mission carried out by the United States military. The Resident Evil 2 duo reunite to get to the bottom of things.
Resident Evil: Death Island
All the heroes of the first three Resident Evil games team up to look into an outbreak that seemingly began on Alcatraz Island. Jill joins Chris and Claire for an investigation into a series of mysterious deaths related to a new strain of the T-virus. Separately, Leon is leading a raid to arrest an engineer suspected of selling military technology to foreign interests. Once again, these separate missions intertwine.
Alongside the standard action and suspense found in the Resident Evil animated movies and series, Death Island syncs the look of the films with the modern games. The Resident Evil 3 remake look is established as the norm for Jill, with the same being done for the Resident Evil 8 version of Chris. The film also serves as a follow-up to Jill’s story after the events of Resident Evil 5.
Resident Evil games and animated movies timeline
The mainline Resident Evil games and animated movies take place between 1998 and 2015, Leon, Claire, and the former members of STARS being put on the back burner after this point. Here is the full timeline for the mainline Resident Evil games and how they tie into the animated films:
- 1998- Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil 1’s mansion incident occur in July, which is followed by the destruction of Raccoon City in Resident Evil 2 and 3, and the events of Resident Evil: Outbreak and Outbreak File #2 in September. Claire then heads to Europe in search of Chris in December, as seen in Code: Veronica.
- 2000- The Penamstan civil war breaks out, which leads to Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness.
- 2002- A bioterrorism attack hits India, setting up the events of Resident Evil: Degeneration.
- 2004- Leon heads to Europe after the United States president’s daughter is kidnapped, as seen in Resident Evil 4.
- 2006- A zombie outbreak occurs at a Pittsburgh airport, starting Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness. Separately, Jill is captured by Wesker, as seen in Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil: Death Island.
- 2009- Chris partners with Sheva for a mission in Africa, resulting in Resident Evil 5.
- 2011- Resident Evil: Damnation occurs, with Leon investigating a Las Plagas outbreak in Eastern Europe.
- 2012- Resident Evil 6 begins, as seen in parts of Chris’ and Jake’s stories.
- 2013- The majority of Resident Evil 6 takes place, including the stories of Ada and Leon.
- 2014- Chris and Rebecca team up with Leon in Resident Evil: Vendetta.
- 2015- A rash of T-virus stemming from Alcatraz Island occur, which leads to Resident Evil: Death Island.
- 2017- Resident Evil 7 occurs, starting with the death of a paranormal investigation team in June, followed by Ethan Winters arriving at the house of the Baker family in July.
- 2020- Resident Evil: Outbreak’s Alyssa Ashcroft is murdered, which her daughter later investigates in Resident Evil 9.
- 2021- Chris raids the home of Ethan Winters and abducts his daughter Rosemary, landing him in the titular village of Resident Evil 8.
- 2037- A teenage Rosemary is forced to psychically return to the village in Resident Evil 8’s Shadows of Rose DLC.
2017 seemingly marks a turning point in the Resident Evil timeline where the main characters from Resident Evil 1 through 6 have run their course. That run seemingly ends with the Resident Evil: Death Island animated movie.
Resident Evil 7 marks a major turning point both in gameplay and tone. Ethan Winters hogs the spotlight in Resident Evil 7 and keeps it in Resident Evil 8. Chris is the only character from the series to feature prominently in the game, albeit in a supporting role.
Resident Evil 9 will also focus on other characters. The upcoming RE Requiem is slated for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC and is set to star a new protagonist in Grace Ashcroft, an FBI agent investigating a string of murders. This includes her mother Alyssa, who was a playable character in Resident Evil: Outbreak. There’s no sign of Chris, Leon, or any other character from mainline Resident Evil games.
Where to watch the animated Resident Evil movies
The animated Resident Evil movies including Degeneration, Damnation, Vendetta, and Death Island are only available for purchase through platforms such as YouTube and Amazon Prime.
While Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness was released through Netflix and remains there years later, the animated movies weren’t so lucky. Distribution has been handled by a few companies and they don’t have a steady home on any one streaming service.
In most markets, the only option to watch them is by purchasing them through YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, or Google Play movies. Prices and which movies are available on which service vary from location to location. The movies were also given a physical Blu-ray release.
