by Gill Pringle

First adapted into film by writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson in 2002, the massively popular game would become a six-film franchise, starring his wife Jovovich as Alice.

Originally a high-ranking Umbrella security operation, Alice would ultimately join a deep cover US law enforcement operation to expose the company’s illegal viral research data.

After Jovovich and Anderson laid the franchise to rest with 2016’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, the producers looked to find ways to re-invigorate the movie adaptations for a whole new generation, ultimately casting Scodelario as street-smart protagonist, Claire Redfield.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is set in the eponymous once booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation; the company’s exodus leaving the city a wasteland, with evil brewing below the surface.

When that evil is unleashed, a group of survivors must work together to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and make it through the night.

Enter Robbie Amell, Tom Hopper, Avan Jogia, Donal Logue and Neal McDonough as well as Hannah John-Kamen’s Jill Valentine.

Scodelario brings strong action chops to the role, following powerful performances in the Maze Runner trilogy, Clash of the Titans and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Directed by Johannes Roberts, who has long been a fan of Scodelario since her breakout role, aged 14, in British TV dreamed series Skins, which also launched the careers of Daniel Kaluuya, Dev Patel, Nicholas Hoult and Jack O’Connell.

Scodelario, 29, is pregnant with her second child with actor husband Benjamin Walker when we catch up with her.

You are among a handful of actresses known for their action roles. Who were your role models?

“I grew up in an immigrant household in London and my mum was working two jobs, so I didn’t really look at Hollywood that much. I wasn’t really inspired by actors and actresses because I just didn’t really have the time for that – so, I had my mum inspire me and the people around me. I was just lucky that they were all incredibly strong women, so that’s always what I felt the most comfortable playing just because that’s what I’ve seen. To me, that is a true representation of the world. I’ve never met a woman who isn’t strong in one way or another, even if they’re vulnerable and fragile, they’re still amazing and I think we’re all incredible, so that’s why I am always drawn to those roles. Looking back, Linda Hamilton was a huge inspiration for me. Sarah Connor was the first female character I ever saw who wasn’t kissing people and wearing red lipstick and wasn’t overly sexualized. And I loved the glasses that she wore and how she walked and smoked. There was something just so cool about her and it was nothing to do with whether it was feminine or masculine; it was just a real cool character. So, it’s always been my motivation to look for something that on the page sounds awesome and could be a man or a woman.”

There’s a lot of guns in Raccoon City. Did you train in order to become proficient?

“I wasn’t that experienced with weapons before, so I learned practically everything on this movie. We had a really amazing armourer, who was very skilled and has been doing it for a very long time and was incredibly safe. He taught me how to handle them all and it was really interesting to learn; it’s such an important part of the games and such an important part of Claire. Especially the shotgun, it’s the iconic weapon she uses so I wanted to make sure I looked really natural, moving around with it and also so that I could just physically hold it for 12 hours a day for three months. It was definitely a new skill for me.”

Tell us more about the Welcome to Raccoon City story?

“Claire is the stranger who comes to town and leads us on this journey. She’s going back to her childhood town because she has a sense that something is wrong and feels a deep urgency to get to her brother Chris, to warn him. But when we meet Claire and Chris as adults, we quickly notice that something has happened between them. They find it very difficult to communicate. They don’t quite trust each other. As the story progresses, we learn they have a bond, borne through a traumatic childhood, that they have learnt to deal with in opposite ways. Chris joined the police and Claire has gone on the street. As we follow them, they find a way to unite and come back to each other. There’s obviously a huge responsibility because my character is so important to so many people.”

What did you enjoy about working on Raccoon City?

“What was cool about this one was learning how to marry the horror atmosphere and tension with the survival fast-pace. These are two things that are usually quite difficult to get right, so there were moments of suspense where we had to play things very quietly and tensely, but we’re also on the move the entire time, so it’s a very physical shoot and that was really interesting to get your adrenaline going practically every single day for three months. There was never a chill day on set. It was always very fast paced and high action and I really enjoy that.”

You and your husband Benjamin Walker have been living in New Zealand for a while?

“Yes, we were there for a year while my husband was shooting a TV show (Lord of the Rings), so we were there for the last 12 months although we’re back home in London now. We had an incredible time there. It’s a really far away place, but it’s amazing once you get there. We were very lucky to be there during what was an awful time for the rest of the world and we met some amazing people there. Also, we’ve both worked in Australia before. My husband and I actually fell in love in Australia so it’s a very special country for us and we love visiting – although we’re back on this side of the equator now.”

You first met Ben filming period action film The King’s Daughter, which was shot in Melbourne in 2015. Will it ever be released?

“Yes, apparently it’s coming out in the US in January, which we had no idea about. We shot it seven years ago, so it’s been a very long time. It will be quite strange for us because it’s the movie we fell in love on and we quite liked that it never came out because it’s kind of ours and no-one can criticise it, and apparently Julie Andrews did the narration for it which is pretty exciting. I’m really excited to see it because I’ve never seen the whole film and it will be strange to see us again.”

Is Welcome to Raccoon City the start of a new franchise? Will you be back fighting Evil again?

“Not at the moment, but I would definitely love to if the desire was there from the fans and the audiences. I would be more than happy to step into Claire’s boots again.”

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is in cinemas December 9, 2021