Lance Reddick, Ella Balinska Star in Netflix's Resident Evil

It sounds bonkers but hey, I’ll give it a go. I hope people check out Lance Reddick’s episode of The Eric Andre Show, it’s hilarious.

This is awesome

@Athrum Who cares? If Lance Reddick is Wesker then it stands to reason that his twin daughters aren’t exactly going to be Caucasian men. There are three other characters there. Clearly those parts weren’t written for men if there are three women standing there.

Netflix is a dumpster fire of forced diversity and left wing preaching and this is clearly no exception, nothing wrong with Lance Reddick as Wesker but there's nothing even remotely even handed about their entire cast, I'm guessing at least 2 of those woman are lesbian as well... just a shot in the dark but I like my odds

“The cast photo gives us serious Riverdale vibes, which, honestly, is a plus in our book.“

Really? For a Resident Evil show...

Wow they are just like in the games.

@AdamNovice Black women have been playing Anne Boleyn for as long as black people have been performing Shakespeare. Literally Henry VIII is one of his plays. So it’s a non-issue.

I don’t care about the casting, but I do care that it will “deviate significantly from its source material.” Is there no way we can get an accurate live action adaptation of the games? Weren’t the Paul S. Anderson films bad enough? I’ve pretty much lost all hope in this series already. I guess I can hope the new movie series gives us an accurate adaptation, but I’m not holding my breath. It would sure as heck make me more open minded to these projects that insist on having their own spin.

@AdamNovice Except when John Wayne played Genghis Khan they painted him in yellowface and gave him dodgy eye makeup. It’s not as if they’re painting Lance Reddick white.

@AdamNovice But they’ve cast plenty of people that don’t resemble characters or historical figures before. That’s the job of hair, makeup and costuming. Margo Robbie looks nothing like Elizabeth I and they made her look like her. Christian Bale looks nothing like Dick Cheney. Gary Oldman looks nothing like Churchill. Taraji P Henson looks absolutely nothing like Katherine Johnson and yet the hair, makeup and costuming made her recognisably similar.

Having a white person playing a POC on screen happens so often that you probably don’t notice enough to find an outcry. That movie 21 about the people playing blackjack? They replaced all the Asian characters with white actors. That movie Argo? Ben Affleck plays a guy who’s Mexican-American in real life. That movie A Beautiful Mind? Jennifer Connelly plays a Salvadorian woman. Carey Mulligan’s character in the original Drive novel is Latina. The director of the adaptation said he ‘couldn’t find an actor that would click with him personally’ and chose a white actress instead. There was no outcry for these roles.

"Riverdale vibes" make you want to watch it?

@Residentsteven maybe they give Lance a blond wig.

@nessisonett dude nessisonett you always complain about stupid things you know nothing about.
What if a white guy plays martin luther king.

@The_ghostmen Martin Luther King’s race would directly impact any movie made about him. Albert Wesker’s does not.

Lance has a very distinctive voice . Could be used to enhance this series.

Eh it'll just be another crappy live action RE that isn't targeted towards actual fans of the games. If you're an actual fan, be sure to check out infinite darkness instead.

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/122/368/8b7.png

Netflix does it again lol

Identity politics are definitely at play here. Will be a pass from me sorry.

Jesus christ whats wrong with some of you...does it really matter who plays which character? Nick fury was a white man but samuel.l.jackson was superb..the only time i got annoyed with the whole race/gender/colour appropiation thing was when scarlett johanssen was savaged for playing the lead character in ghost in the shell when people are saying the movie industry needs to be more diverse..i agree diversety is a good thing but the hypocrisy that goes with it needs to stop..a lot like some of the posters here..

@nessisonett dont get involved with these troglodytes..you are intellectually far superior to these trolls bud..pushsquare should shut this thread down like they did with the harry potter one..

@nessisonett and when linda hunt played billy kwan in the year of living dangerously?

@Subsided yeah, I wish I could watch FOX NEWS all day. It's one way to avoid diversity and left wing preaching.

I remember when there was an uproar over that show "Bridgerton" on Netflix for casting black actors as parts of high society in 1813 London. Some simply couldn't take it and kept trashing the show saying it will flop. It became the most successful show that Netflix has ever released. Not saying that this will be successful, but as long as it's well written (or at least interesting for the masses), it stands a chance.

@The_ghostmen the irony is strong with this one.

@nessisonett you gave the correct response. Does the race of the character make the character who they are?

How many people complained when Samuel L Jackson became Nick Fury?

I remember thinking that Fisher Stevens was actually Indian when he played Ben in Short Circuit. I never found out until years later. Top acting.

@Subsided 😆😆😆

Lesbians?! Oh the horror.

Lance Reddick makes everything he's involved in 10% better. People should be encouraged by his casting. This is just an interpretation of Resident Evil not the definitive version.

If they just tried to make everyone look like they do in the games people would complain about that, accuse them of lazy casting or bad cosplay or something else.

I do think Netflix have lost the plot though. They don't seem to want to give shows a chance nowadays and an opportunity to grow. I swear if they'd made The Boys it would've been cancelled after season one.

Also, a lot of their more successful output seems to aimed at younger people and women. Nothing wrong with that of course but just an observation I've made.

I'm looking forward to Stranger Things and The Witcher but beyond that? There's not much. Maybe this show will be good!

Setting aside the obvious issue, this sounds dreadful. And that photo needs more diversity. It needs a vertically challenged person of no specified gender. Yay representation!

How is it that people hate the films because they're "not Resident Evil", yet this somehow is? I'll pass on this, and won't labour the point.

Lol this is gonna suck

So many of you here aren't even hiding your racism and bigotry. Gawd if I have to read a troglodyte say Identity Politics one more time...

A mere two comments in, Comments section ruined. Interesting to know people's stances on things that I never cared to know about all because they drifted off the topic of videogames and into divisive subjects that never even called for it.

@nessisonett I suppose it matters to some, just like when people got annoyed because Scarlett Johansson played Ghost in the Shells lead. People can't see the fact that they are literally the same entity masquerading as individuals for some reason. Luckily I pretty much nearly exclusively watch animated stuff so rarely have to hear about this kind of thing.

Riverdale!??? 😂 are you all 13 year old schoolgirls

@AdamNovice yeah the Anne boleyn drama was ridiculous, I hear nic cage is playing Nelson Mandela in a new biopic

@Baircade maybe they just want a favourite video game to stick to the subject matter ,id be pissed if they cast Henry cavil as spawn or matt damon as shadowman

@Arugula shes sending a fashion statement, and that statement is im a pretentious tw*t

@nessisonett ridiculous analogy ,so you're saying they're gonna slap a blonde wig and sunglasses on lance and jobs a good un,I can see complaints a coming

@nessisonett care to mention where a black person has played anne boleyn in a high profile drama or film ? Or was you talking about the local amateur dramatics ?

So its clear you either like this decision or you're a racist. No wonder no one takes accusations of racism seriously anymore, the word is a scattergun term that basically means having an opinion, that whilst doesn't fit with the dictionary definition of the term racism, is still racist, because there is never a middle ground full of nuances or perspective or opinion. Why even have a comment section?

@get2sammyb Then make a new series.

The housewives of Umbrella Corp.

@nessisonett Yeah i kinda care i played the games from the start with my favorite characters in there. Nothing wrong with introducing new characters a easy to diverse
a series.

Yeah and its getting clear they are making such a effort get rid of any white characters. Its a easy way to score points. White people cant say anything without being called racist.

I dont even hate they try something but man they really go out of their way to make it clear how they casted Wesker and no caucasian characters in there.

Two more things i like to add you talk about miscasting characters by others and then you talk about it does not matter sounds like you have a double standard. And what point are you trying to make white people did it before so its ok now?

@IMustardMitt But its diverse there are zero white people in it. Atleast try to put in a little diversity but there still is no diversity now its just easy to score points leaving them out. Because if a white person complains the racismcard is easy.

@Baircade Im going to bite here if its one way around its diverse and the other way around its racist yeah thats a thing. Thats my look on it and its getting old fast. The racism card thats new.

@vapidwolf @nessisonett
https://www.channel5.com/show/anne-boleyn/

Doesn't get more high profile than channel 5.....

Wow, this thread turned into a twitter comment section real quick. Its like a cancer spreading all over the internet, and we can’t escape it. Smh

@PhilSpencerTheMan no I don't give a flying fu*k what i do care about is any arsehole accusing someone of racism because they don't like an acting choice ,climb off your high horse sonny

@MatthewJP jesus christ ,this has already been mentioned ,pay attention now

man i love RE... it's my all time fav. Mr. Reddick is an ok actor. watched him in Bosch and he's nothing to write home about but playing wesker...seriously? not interested sorry.

Jesus Christ this comment section.

The people triggered by this should go back to 8chan.

Thats the cast of resident evil?!? Ummm.... Errr.... Oh dear.
I can totally see lance being awesome as wesker, no problem there. Im just sick of EVERYONE on tv being a teen/20 something super model and just watch, even during scenes where theyre crawling through disgusting places their clothes will always look freshly pressed and laundered and their hair... Oh their hair will be FABULOUS! No one and nowhere will feel lived in and real. Just watch!
And everyone will be rich, ritzy and very well off. Just fake and unrelatable.
....... Just like every show.
Sick of it. Ill give it a chance but i know im right, so its 99% gonna be a no from me.

Edit: lol everyone else is like race this and gender that but im over here talkin to myself like, EVERYTHING IS TOO CLEAN lol.

@ApostateMage iiiinnnnput!

Also while we're all showing off our true colors, and before i leave this cesspool of a comments section, racists, homophobes,sexists and trabsphobes can all F right off. And HaPpY pRiDe month! 🖤🧡🖤

Wow it got pretty gamer in here pretty quick. Embarrassing stuff.

Hmm I will give it a go. Need something new to watch anyway.

@Gmork___ whats a trab is this a new one,I find it hard to keep up with the made up nonsense

@naruball why watch fox News when you can watch Bollywood, or Spanish soaps or the latest Korean film, if you want 0 diversity just watch something from any non white country and their firm stance on 0 diversity at all

@Col_McCafferty not about the fact they're lesbians but more toward the fact Netflix has a heavy hand in controlling and preaching every aspect of a shows characters regardless of what the show is about, it always needs to preach views in a very obvious and obnoxious way. It's about overly politicizing every fiction show and destroying any avenue of escapism that shows exist for

@nessisonett and yet you'd argue to kingdom come that a woman cast in a man's role makes perfect sense, don't mind me just get my kicks pointing out left wing hypocrisy

@Baircade it seems like you just don't understand many thing, Netflix clearly employs forced diversity which is another way of saying discrimination, there is no best fit casting but rather discriminatory casting based on the corporate entities value which also stiffles creativity and causing a show to preach it values in very in your face ways which wears on any escapism factor shows are made for, couple this with a global double standard where white countries are the only places in the world with any diversity and it makes perfect since why white people, the real minority, may not like being cut out of the slim niche they made for themselves

To me it looks like instead of picking an actor for the role they picked a role for the actor. This choice for Wesker who has a pretty distinct look in the games feels weird and forced. And it should be ok to point that out without lunatics yelling racism etc.
No one would be complaining if they just casted Lance as a new character.

In any case they will probably mess it up by focusing on the daughters.

looks like a 1 season corny CW-type show this has failure all over it.
Lance Reddick is such a good actor is it too hard for Hollywood to create a new cool character for him!!

look at how unstable people are now when you disagree with what they think is right! they call people names so immature racism is such an abused word now.

Good to see people in the comments section whom you thought were cool people, showing themselves as entitled, privileged, bigoted, racist individuals.

@Zuljaras been part of my vocabulary since the mid 90s friend lol.

Who cares? Folks freaking out over a fictional character created by Japanese people. Wesker could have been purple in the games and he would have been written/acted the same way. There is nothing inherently white/caucasian american about him or how he is treated or acts other than the pixels.

This isn’t a character that being a certain skin color had anything to do with his background or motivations. He had no advantage or disadvantage placed on him due to his skin color. Nobody did research to figure out how to make wesker as faithful to white/anglo/caucasian culture as possible (as with GoTsushima), they just wrote a bad guy and slapped blonde hair and some sunglasses on him and gave him an anglo name. (Japanese people consider their skin color to be white as well...look at their art.)

アルバート・ウェスカー (wesker’s name as written in biohazard) was merely the Japanese diversity pick. The non Japanese characters look like that because that is exotic/fresh/different to Japanese people, but his character behavior and creation is influenced by those that made him... Japanese people. All of em, Clare, Leon...all of them are Japanese people with exotic sprites/character models. If their Japanese creators acted the way some of y’all did then the whole RE cast would have looked Japanese and kept it moving. It’s ok for the creators to put in other races but if a TV show does the same thing that is where the line is drawn?

I mean if you are going to die on the “I hate seeing anything that isn’t white” hill, at least pick actual white people/characters and not white appearing characters. For instance you couldn’t realistically do a Alexander Hamilton movie with a Chinese woman as the lead. As being male and white cemented his place in a society governed by white men and motivated how he was treated by others and how he treated them. Or if you want a fictional character Tarzan (which means white skin in the ape language) was purposely made a white man and the white savior trope would fall to absolute pieces if it starred a Black person (even though it makes sense by law of averages).

There are times where racialwashing is worthy of outrage because it diminishes( or outright erases) the real racial tensions/conflict that influence that character, how they are treated and the society they live in (for instance all the strawmen getting thrown about making Dr. King white) due to their skin color or it erases/appropriates the culture that is tied to a ethnic group. Usually this is done to make the members of the group that uphold that conflict feel better. The only way that could possibly work is if you flip everyone (and exchange the power dynamic) which those strawmen tossers don’t want either.

However this is a videogame with no racial motivations other than some Japanese people thought it sounded cool. Do y’all think Mario is a real example of an Italian/Italian-American too? Did anyone care when the RE movies went in a different direction with Alice?

There are over 7 billion of us, we come in different shades...hair and eye colors too.

By all means die on that hill if you want to (you do you) but I wouldn’t pick this one if I were you...this hill is Japanese.

Tldr: it’s a Japanese created character voiced by Joji Nakata... who cares that Lance Reddick is playing a version of him?! At this point I wish they’d cast a Japanese guy so it would go full circle.

Picture tells us all we need to know. Lol its going to suck.

@Ryu_Niiyama lol all that nonsense would mean something if they hadn't already made a black Joan of Arc and a black Anne Boleyn. They are kept fictional characters. Now say I made a movie about Martin L King and cast Tom Hardy do you think it would be OK? On this show, its not so important, we know its going to suck anyway so

@eagletrippin lol if you have an opinion you're instantly a racist? Simpleton.

@Itsacardgame I don't have a dog in this fight but there is both a white and black Nick Fury in comics before the movies.

I'm a POC, but tokenism has never won my support.
The movie Funny Boy, is an example an excellent novel ruined by changing the original vision.

@starbuck2212 Yes, if you have an opinion, you are racist, that is exactly what I am saying, lol, you are so intelligent, good job

As a black dude I honestly hate when they make these changes. One of the biggest reasons (other than it being totally unnecessary) is that it makes it almost impossible to get on forums and discuss the show. Every topic is about the casting rather than the show itself. And to be honest I don’t think most Black people who know this show would be upset if it stuck to the source material.

@AdamNovice Black Panther can’t be white because his blackness is part of the character. That’s would be silly. Neither can Luke Cage. But Blade most definitely can be a white guy.

it DOES matter!

@OrigamiCrane "I know it has become a meme at this point but my best friend who is African finds crap like this offensive and only middle-class and up pasty white millennials on social media with excessive white guilt think that stuff like this are somehow going to help black people feel better about themselves"

Gotta love omniscient people who can speak for everyone. By all means, never stop. My friend who represents all people says so.

@Subsided laughable response is laughable. For one things, Bollywood doesn't appeal to the average westerner. Their audience is very specific.

Angry mobs threw a fit over the casting of The Witcher, vowed to boycott the show and that proved to be yet another huge success. Let's see how this one does.

@naruball doesn't appeal to the average westerner... so you're saying that Bollywood should be exclusionary and only appeal to their own race while only casting their own race...or did I just show yet another case of left. Wing. Hypocrisy.

@Subsided lol at people like you calling anything they don't like or understand hypocrisy. Not gonna waste more time on you.
Also, no, I didn't say that. You did because you wish I had said that. R.I.P., reading comprehension

I think he'd make a good blade

@Psofo exactly! Why not create Sheva's brother and have him working with Wesker.

@Subsided

“couple this with a global double standard where white countries are the only places in the world with any diversity”

There are some many angles of ignorance built into this statement. The United States has so much diversity largely because they stole people of color from their home countries, enslaved them, and then were forced to set them free to inhabit the land they had come to know. Much the same can be said for Western Europe. While that is an oversimplification, given the role of immigration, slavery is the bedrock of western diversity.

“and it makes perfect since why white people, the real minority, may not like being cut out of the slim niche they made for themselves.”

They cut out that niche by murdering and enslaving people of color and by forcibly prohibiting people of color from occupying important positions in society, notably media. Rephrasing genocide as “cutting out a slim niche” is pretty cringeworthy.

“so you're saying that Bollywood should be exclusionary and only appeal to their own race while only casting their own race”

India is like .1 percent white. There’s even fewer black people. Expecting Bollywood to have greater diversification in the same way we see in the west is silly. Media should represent the diversity of the region being depicted.

@naruball no people who know the definition of hypocrisy use the word hypocrisy as you describe why Bollywood should only cast Indian actors for an Indian audience but the west should "adapt" to include diversity while being blind to the irony that you tout that western shoes need more minorities but India the country with the world's actual Majority should still exclusively cast the majority race

@kcarnes9051 So much ignorance and deflection in a comment, slavery doesn't explain the fact that the largest "minority" is Hispanic, or middle eastern for all "white" countries, in fact those are two races absolutely uninvolved. And it's funny how one can preach for more diversity while openly accepting that countries with the real majority should remain exclusionary and not do more to have a more diverse population. Your theory doesn't track with those FACTS. Not only is it invalid but it's also ignorant of other aspects of diversity such as "trans" which is still a slim minority everywhere and yet according to you it should represent the diversity of the region...so is that more hypocrisy or are you saying Trans are overepresented in western media?

@Subsided I said it was an oversimplification for a reason. In the case of black people in the west, slavery is absolutely the reason why they represent 10 percent of the population. In regards to other elements of diversity, there are a vast number of political, geographic, economic, and historic reasons why certain populations have different levels of diversity. They can’t all be summarized here. But, yes, other reasons include racism in parts of the world that have contributed to homogenous societies, and it’s fair to ask them to do better. But slavery and colonization is absolutely a huge reason why we have the diversity we do.

Why are there so many Hispanics here? Because white Spanish conquistadors invaded the Americas and raped and bred with the native population. They’ve always been here since.

What I said before in regards to Bollywood wasn’t to say that they should be exclusionary. Trust me, I’m aware Bollywood has its own history of racism and doesn’t get a pass. But to expect Bollywood movies to have even a remotely similar diversity makeup compared to the west is just unrealistic. India is actually one of the most diverse countries in the world. They’re just not diverse in the way we see diversity in the US. And they have representation issues relating to their own diversity.

In regards to trans representation, trans people have been marginalized and oppressed since forever. You have to understand and acknowledge that we’re in a time and place when taking a stand in support of a marginalized group can lead to overrepresentation simply because people want to further normalize and integrate them into our communities. It is a larger movement in society. You might find it objectionable but many find it refreshing and in a way making up for years of marginalization. Public opinion is a pendulum after all. And it can swing widely. But let’s be honest, is trans representation really that high? Somehow I have a feeling that the media is overreporting on trans roles more so than trans people are actually over representing themselves in film and television roles. I can’t say for sure. Do you have the percentages of trans representation in media or are you just overreacting to seeing trans people in places where they were previously not given space before.

I like Lance Reddick’s he’s a good actor but the rest of the cast I’m not feeling it. This one I can easily pass up on.

@Darthrau I tried to word it in that way without explaining too much. SLJ was “cast” as Nick Fury in the comic years before he was offered the actual role in the movies. I don’t remember people being upset that the Ultimate Nick Fury was black. Maybe just upset that Ultimatum happened…

@Itsacardgame I never saw it but I would've been more upset the Hoff was Fury hehe. Some race swapping doesn't have to big an impact others can be jarring. This new Little Mermaid everyone knows Ariel but Disney is going to swap her and more than likely her park lookalike. Now there are great black/afro princess type stories available to them. So why not give the (put culture here) there princess/hero? Virtue signaling? Afraid they won't make money unless they swap? Either of those narratives are both rude and disrespectful yet it must be one because they continue to do it. Sorry no paragraphs

@Darthrau yeah, sticking with the Hoff would have been uhh… something, I don’t know what. I don’t know if Marvel started this path in the early 2000’s or joined something already in progress I wasn’t aware of but the changes to characters have been going on all over for a while. Not necessarily a bad thing. People have been retelling stories for centuries and those have had cultural edits applied to them, maybe not all in good faith. Does the change make sense within the universe? Does it disrupt the universe (I’m talking meta “in-universe” of the made fiction (or real life, too, I suppose))? Then why would it need to be one way or the other, and why do we really care?

I haven’t yet seen anything Lance has been in, so I’m not a judge of how well this is going to go. And we’ve been used to Wesker being what he’s been for what 25 years? So it’ll certainly be jarring for some.