How to Watch the ‘Resident Evil’ Movies in Order, in Every Timeline

Few video game franchises have made the jump to the big screen as many times as Resident Evil. Capcom’s survival horror series has spawned a six-film Milla Jovovich saga, two live-action reboots and a run of CG-animated movies set within the games’ own timeline.

That’s a lot of Raccoon City chaos to keep straight. With multiple continuities and standalone stories, there’s no single way to watch every Resident Evil movie in chronological order.

Now, with Zach Cregger’s new Resident Evil movie in theaters now — and already the best-reviewed movie in the franchise — here’s the best way to watch all 12 Resident Evil movies in order and where each one fits.

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‘Resident Evil’ Movies in Order: Quick Answer

There are 12 Resident Evil movies: eight live-action films and four CG-animated films, plus two Netflix series. Here they are in release order:

Should You Watch in Release or Chronological Order?

Neither, exactly. Watch by timeline. Because the movies span several separate continuities, there’s no single chronological order for the whole franchise. Pick the version you want and watch it start to finish.

• New to Resident Evil? Start with the 2026 film. It’s a standalone story, it needs zero homework and it’s the best-reviewed entry in the series.
• Want the full action saga? Watch the six Milla Jovovich films in release order, which is also their story order.
• Played the games? Go with the animated films. They’re part of the official game timeline and star Leon, Claire, Chris and Jill.

The Milla Jovovich Series (2002–2016)

Paul W. S. Anderson’s six-film run invented its own hero, Alice, and pulled in game characters as it went. Release order and story order are the same here, with all six films following Alice’s story chronologically.

‘Resident Evil’ (2002)

Director: Paul W. S. Anderson | Runtime: 1h 40m | Rating: R | Starring: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, James Purefoy

Alice wakes up inside a mysterious mansion with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She soon joins a military team descending into the Hive, a massive underground Umbrella Corporation laboratory where the T-virus has escaped and the facility’s artificial intelligence, the Red Queen, has sealed everyone inside. As the group encounters infected employees and increasingly dangerous experiments, Alice begins uncovering the truth about the outbreak, and her own connection to Umbrella.

The film introduces Alice as an original character rather than adapting one of the games directly, while establishing Umbrella, the T-virus and many of the ideas that drive the rest of the series.

‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’ (2004)

Director: Alexander Witt | Runtime: 1h 33m | Rating: R | Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Jared Harris, Mike Epps

The T-virus has escaped the Hive and spread throughout Raccoon City, forcing Umbrella to quarantine the population before the outbreak can spread any farther. Alice joins Jill Valentine, Carlos Oliveira and other survivors trying to escape the city while searching for the daughter of an Umbrella scientist who may be able to help them get out. Standing in their way is Nemesis, one of Umbrella’s most dangerous biological weapons.

Apocalypse expands the first film’s contained outbreak into a citywide disaster while bringing major characters and creatures from the games into the live-action series.

‘Resident Evil: Extinction’ (2007)

Director: Russell Mulcahy | Runtime: 1h 34m | Rating: R | Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Oded Fehr, Iain Glen

Years after the destruction of Raccoon City, the T-virus has spread around the world and devastated civilization. Alice travels alone while Claire Redfield leads a convoy of survivors across the Mojave Desert, searching for supplies and hoping to reach a rumored safe haven in Alaska. Their paths eventually cross as Umbrella scientist Dr. Alexander Isaacs continues hunting Alice and experimenting with the virus.

The third film dramatically expands the scope of the series, moving beyond Raccoon City and showing what the world has become after the outbreak.

‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’ (2010)

Director: Paul W. S. Anderson | Runtime: 1h 37m | Rating: R | Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller, Shawn Roberts

Alice continues searching for survivors and eventually reunites with Claire Redfield, whose memories have been affected by a mysterious Umbrella device. Their search for the supposed safe haven of Arcadia leads them to a group barricaded inside a Los Angeles prison, where they also meet Claire’s brother, Chris Redfield. But escaping the infected city is only part of the problem, as the truth about Arcadia awaits them.

Afterlife brings Chris Redfield and Albert Wesker into the film series while continuing Alice and Claire’s search for a place beyond Umbrella’s reach.

‘Resident Evil: Retribution’ (2012)

Director: Paul W. S. Anderson | Runtime: 1h 36m | Rating: R | Starring: Milla Jovovich, Li Bingbing, Johann Urb, Sienna Guillory, Kevin Durand

After being captured by Umbrella, Alice awakens inside a massive underwater testing facility designed to simulate T-virus outbreaks in cities around the world. Each environment throws her into a different manufactured disaster as she searches for a way out with help from Ada Wong and a rescue team that includes Leon S. Kennedy. Along the way, Alice encounters familiar faces from her past. Although, not all of them are who they appear to be.

The facility’s simulations allow Retribution to revisit characters and locations from earlier films while introducing even more familiar names from the games.

‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter’ (2016)

Director: Paul W. S. Anderson | Runtime: 1h 47m | Rating: R | Starring: Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen, Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts, Ruby Rose

Following the events of Retribution, Alice learns that Umbrella possesses an airborne antivirus capable of destroying the T-virus before humanity is wiped out completely. There’s just one problem: the antivirus is hidden beneath Raccoon City inside the Hive, bringing Alice back to the place where everything began. With only 48 hours remaining, she reunites with Claire Redfield and prepares for one final confrontation with Umbrella.

As its title suggests, The Final Chapter brings Alice’s six-film battle against Umbrella full circle and reveals new information about the origins of the outbreak.

The Animated Films (Game Canon)

Capcom’s CG-animated movies are the only Resident Evil films set in the same timeline as the games. They follow the games’ heroes years after the Raccoon City disaster. Release order matches story order.

‘Resident Evil: Degeneration’ (2008)

Director: Makoto Kamiya | Runtime: 1h 36m | Voice Cast: Paul Mercier, Alyson Court

Seven years after the Raccoon City disaster, a T-virus outbreak erupts at Harvardville Airport, trapping passengers inside with the infected. Government agent Leon S. Kennedy is sent in to contain the situation, where he reunites with Claire Redfield, now working with the humanitarian organization TerraSave. Their investigation eventually uncovers a larger conspiracy involving a pharmaceutical company, a T-virus vaccine and secrets connected to Umbrella’s legacy.

In-universe placement: Set in 2005, after Resident Evil 4.

‘Resident Evil: Damnation’ (2012)

Director: Makoto Kamiya | Runtime: 1h 40m | Voice Cast: Matthew Mercer, Courtenay Taylor, Dave Wittenberg, Wendee Lee

Leon S. Kennedy enters the fictional Eastern Slav Republic to investigate reports that Bio-Organic Weapons are being used in the country’s civil war. Even after the U.S. government orders him to withdraw, Leon continues his investigation and becomes caught between rebel fighters, government forces and increasingly dangerous bioweapons. Ada Wong is pursuing an agenda of her own, further complicating Leon’s mission.

In-universe placement: Set in 2011, between Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6.

‘Resident Evil: Vendetta’ (2017)

Director: Takanori Tsujimoto | Runtime: 1h 37m | Voice Cast: Kevin Dorman, Matthew Mercer, Erin Cahill, John DeMita

Chris Redfield is pursuing Glenn Arias, a black-market weapons dealer preparing to unleash a new biological weapon on New York City. The investigation brings Chris together with Leon S. Kennedy and former S.T.A.R.S. member Rebecca Chambers, whose expertise becomes crucial to stopping the attack. With Arias threatening to infect millions, the three longtime Resident Evil characters must work together to prevent another large-scale outbreak.

In-universe placement: Set in 2014, after Resident Evil 6.

‘Resident Evil: Death Island’ (2023)

Director: Eiichirō Hasumi | Runtime: 1h 31m | Voice Cast: Matthew Mercer, Nicole Tompkins, Kevin Dorman, Stephanie Panisello, Erin Cahill

A series of seemingly unrelated cases brings several of the franchise’s biggest heroes to San Francisco. Leon investigates the kidnapping of a government scientist, while Chris, Jill and Rebecca look into a mysterious infection spreading through the city and Claire discovers a disturbing connection to Alcatraz Island. Their investigations eventually converge at the former prison, where they uncover a new bioterror plot tied to the legacy of Raccoon City.

The film notably brings Leon, Jill, Chris, Claire and Rebecca together on-screen for the first time.

In-universe placement: Opens with a flashback to 1998, but the main events take place in 2015.

The Reboots

These two films have nothing to do with the Jovovich series or with each other. You can watch either one cold.

‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City’ (2021)

Director: Johannes Roberts | Runtime: 1h 47m | Rating: R | Starring: Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, Robbie Amell, Tom Hopper, Avan Jogia

Claire Redfield returns to Raccoon City in 1998 and discovers that something is seriously wrong with the former home of the Umbrella Corporation. As residents begin displaying signs of a mysterious infection, her brother Chris and the S.T.A.R.S. team investigate the Spencer Mansion while rookie police officer Leon S. Kennedy becomes trapped at the Raccoon City Police Department. The separate groups gradually uncover what Umbrella left behind, and just how dangerous the city has become.

Unlike the Milla Jovovich films, Welcome to Raccoon City draws directly from the first two Resident Evil games, combining characters, locations and events from both into a new continuity.

‘Resident Evil’ (2026) – In Theaters September 2026

Director: Zach Cregger | Runtime: 1h 34m | Rating: R | Starring: Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser

From the director of Barbarian and Weapons, this new Resident Evil reboot follows Bryan, a medical courier who finds himself trapped in Raccoon City as a viral outbreak transforms the city into a nightmare. What starts as a routine job quickly becomes a fight for survival as Bryan encounters infected residents and mutated creatures while trying to make it to Raccoon City General Hospital.

Rather than retelling the story of one particular Resident Evil game, Cregger’s film introduces original characters and a new story while drawing heavily from the world of Capcom’s survival horror series. That makes it separate from both the Milla Jovovich movies and Welcome to Raccoon City, with no previous Resident Evil viewing required.

The movie also brings the franchise back to its horror roots. While the Jovovich series increasingly leaned into large-scale action, Cregger’s take puts more emphasis on tension, gore and the feeling of being hopelessly outmatched that defined the early games.

Resident Evil opened in theaters on September 18, 2026, to the biggest debut in franchise history. It has also earned the strongest reviews of any Resident Evil movie to date, making Cregger’s reboot a notable new beginning for the long-running horror franchise.

Resident Evil TV Shows

The Resident Evil franchise has also made its way to television, with two very different Netflix adaptations.

• Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness (2021): A four-episode CG series on Netflix starring Leon and Claire. It’s part of the game canon and set in 2006, so watch it between Degeneration and Damnation.
• Resident Evil (2022): A live-action Netflix series with Lance Reddick as Albert Wesker, split between 2022 and a post-apocalyptic 2036. It’s a standalone story and was canceled after one season.

Watch ‘Resident Evil’ Movies on DIRECTV

Whether you’re revisiting the Resident Evil franchise or looking for your next horror movie, DIRECTV makes it easy to find something to watch. Explore more horror favorites like The Conjuring and Evil Dead across your favorite channels and streaming services, and even add Netflix and other streaming apps to your DIRECTV subscription.

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