Sony Screen Gems has announced that production has officially begun on Resident Evil: Afterlife in Toronto, Canada.
Some casting announcements for the fourth installment of the Resident Evil series were made as well. Boris Kodjoe already Tweeted his involvement in the movie, then revealed the casting of Prison Break's Wentworth Miller as well. Afterlife's press release reveals that Miller will be playing game character Chris Redfield, the brother of Ali Larter's Claire, who first arrived in Resident Evil: Extinction. Spencer Locke will return as Extinction's other survivor, K-Mart, and Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy) is cast in an unspecified role.
In a surprising re-casting, Shawn Roberts (Diary of the Dead) will take over for Jason O'Mara as the evil Dr. Albert Wexler. Also of note, IMDb's cast list includes some curious casting rumors with Jensen Ackles playing game character Leon S. Kennedy and Eva Mendes playing a character named Excella Gionne. IMDb still lists O'Mara in the cast, so perhaps those rumors are just that.
Afterlife sees the return of Paul W.S. Anderson to the director's chair, after only writing and producing the previous two sequels Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Extinction. In a statement, Anderson had this to say about Afterlife:
Alice's battle with The Umbrella Corporation isn't finished. Last time we saw Alice [Milla Jovovich], she let them know she was coming after them. It's time to settle the score.
Afterlife is being shot in 3-D and opens August 27, 2010.