How Does ‘Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness’ Connect to the Rest of ‘Resident Evil’?

One of the biggest game franchises of all time has a new installment, thanks to Netflix. This week marks the premiere of Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, a standalone CGI series filled with zombies, political intrigue, and evil corporations. But how does it connect to the Resident Evil franchise?

Netflix is taking a serious gamble on all things Resident Evil. Not only has the streaming giant released this series but it’s also moving forward with a live-action series set in this universe. If you’ve been wondering how this new installment fits into the rest of Resident Evil everything, we have you covered. Here are some of your biggest questions about Infinite Darkness answered.

What’s the Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness Timeline? How Is Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness Connected to Resident Evil?

Netflix’s first addition in this wild world sticks to the video games’ timeline of events. Sorry, Milla Jovovich. We’re not using your movie universe for this one. Infinite Darkness falls between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, but it’s a bit closer to 5. The fifth game was set in mid 2006, and Infinite Darkness is set a bit earlier in that same year. This installment is also set before two of the franchise’s CGI movies, Damnation and Vendetta, and after Resident Evil: Degeneration.

So what’s this new adventure about? The series revolves around a hacking incident that’s been discovered at the White House. Who else can solve this mess other than Resident Evil 2 hero Leon S. Kennedy (Nick Apostolides)? But when Leon enters the White House he’s met by two things: zombies and refugee worker Claire Redfield (Stephanie Panisello). Together they learn that things aren’t as they seem. Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is mostly a standalone story. So if you like this universe but you’ve fallen behind on the countless games, movies, comics, and novels, you should be able to jump in without a problem.

How Many Episodes Are in Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness?

There’s a good argument that Infinite Darkness should have been a movie. Season 1 is composed of four episodes, ranging from 25 to 28 minutes each. Altogether it comes out to 105 minutes, which is just a few minutes longer than the three CGI movies. But when has this universe ever made complete sense?

Will There Be a Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness Season 2?

Netflix has yet to renew Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness for a second season. But that’s where the standalone nature of this series works in its favor. If Netflix wants it can easily expand on Leon and Claire’s adventure and reveal the mysterious figure who met with Secretary Wilson (Brad Venable) at the very end of the series. If it wants to end things as they are and keep that mystery a secret, the streaming giant can do that, too. Either way it doesn’t interfere with the Resident Evil timeline too much since this series is so self-contained.

Watch Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness on Netflix