How Albert Wesker Is Alive In Netflix's TV Show

Netflix's Resident Evil stars Lance Reddick as the infamous Albert Wesker, however the new show follows Capcom's game series where Wesker is dead.

Netflix's upcoming show, Resident Evil, sees the return of franchise staple Albert Wesker—but how the character is still alive has yet to be revealed. The upcoming Resident Evil series is helmed by Supernatural showrunner Andrew Dabb and stars Lance Reddick as Albert Wesker and Ella Balinska as his daughter, Jade. Albert Wesker first appeared in 1996's Resident Evil video game and has made several other appearances throughout the franchise, mostly as an antagonist, with his final appearance in 2009's Resident Evil 5. Wesker is known for his cunning, side-changing, and self-serving motivations. He has also obtained supernatural abilities via the T-virus, giving him super speed and strength.

Showrunner Andrew Dabb has stated that the upcoming Netflix adaption is a continuation of the Resident Evil videogame storyline, unlike the previous Resident Evil film franchise starring Milla Jovovich, which only borrowed certain elements from the franchise. "The games are our backstory," Dabb told the press in April 2022. "Everything that happens in the games exists in this world." While that excited many fans of the complex, rich, storyline of Capcom's ground-breaking game series, it does beg a few questions, especially regarding Albert Wesker's return. However, fans are in luck as Andrew Dabb went to on say "I don't want to give too much away, but I will say the explanation for why Wesker is the way that he is and how he is still alive go hand in hand," which points towards the up-coming Netflix show explaining all.

While Wesker has died and come back before, most notably in his first appearance, his death in Resident Evil 5 seems like the ultimate conclusion to his character, which differs from Wesker's live-action appearances. Wesker's death was also confirmed canon by Resident Evil 5 director Masachika Kawatasad. However, there are a few theories as to how Albert Wesker has once again returned from beyond the grave. Canonically, Wesker's death happened in 2009, a full 13 years before the upcoming Netflix series' timeline, giving Wesker and his iconic shades plenty of time to make a comeback.

Wesker Transferred His Consciousness Into A New Host

Albert Wesker isn't the only Wesker in the Resident Evil franchise—in fact, he has a sister named Alex. While they're not biologically related, they are both byproducts of "Project W", a program established by Oswell. E Spencer, one of Umbrella's four founding members, to create specimens that advance the human race. Alex Wesker, who is named after a Project W scientist much like Albert, has a very similar demise to Albert in many ways. Towards the end of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Alex Wesker transfers her consciousness to Natalia Korda, due to Natalia's unique ability to not feel fear, which was a trigger for Alex's new virus. To trigger the transfer of her consciousness, Alex ends her own life in front of Claire and Moira with a handgun. While it seems to have failed initially, with Alex's body being resurrected by the T-Phobos virus before being destroyed by Claire Redfield, the game's end credits scene reveals it did in fact work.

Much like Albert, Alex's deformed final state is put to an end via an RPG, only this time from Resident Evil Live-action regular Claire Redfield. While it seems that Alex is done and dusted forever, she may have revealed her survival, and indeed the survival of Albert earlier on. As Claire and Moira come face to face with Alex she says "My brother's escape was death. And soon, it will be mine as well". Alex's role in the overall franchise may still be in question and her comments regarding Albert hint toward him surviving his own mutated death. Much like Alex and Natalia, Lance Reddick's body could be the vessel that Albert has now inhabited as a backup plan following his highly risky world-domination endeavor. The transfer process takes 6 months to take effect giving Albert Wesker a large time frame in which he could have set up the transfer with the host. This theory perfectly explains Albert's change in appearance and his apparent survival.

The New Wesker Is A Clone/ The Alien: Resurrection Method

Albert Wesker's death is quite similar to that of Ellen Ripley's death in David Fincher's infamous film Alien 3, which sees Ripley intentionally jump into a furnace while carrying an alien Queen, once and for all ending the Xenomorph threat. However, corporations soon bring her back to life through cloning in Alien: Resurrection, to revive the Queen more than Ripley herself. By Resident Evil 5's end, Wesker intentionally infected himself with the Uroboros virus, which transformed him into a monster. While his demise inside the volcano has been confirmed, bringing him back via a cloning process could still be viable and would not be the first time Resident Evil has used clones in live-action.

Much like Ellen Ripley, Albert Wesker is carrying presumably the last of a highly sought after bioweapon, the Uroboros virus, and is himself an important figure in the wider context of Resident Evil's lore. Wesker has worked with most major companies within the Resident Evil universe that would have the capability to rebuild him in some way. This would also explain why Albert is back working for Umbrella, despite betraying them, since the company would want to control their asset as Wesker is superior in genes and intelligence and can explain the effort put into bringing him back. With the new Resident Evil following the storyline of the games and bringing back Raccoon City, the T-virus may also be another reason Wesker was brought back. Wesker having the virus inside him and having intimate knowledge of the bio-weapon increases his value to the large corporations that could bring him back.

Wesker Never Died/ Healed Using His Abilities

Among Albert Wesker's numerous abilities, which include super-human speed and strength, is a healing factor. Partly thanks to the T-virus, Wesker has survived injuries that would kill anyone else. During Resident Evil's first game a Tyrant punches a hole through Wesker's gut and tosses him across the room, leaving him for dead. It was later revealed that Wesker survived his injuries due to the attack, awakening dormant cells in his body from the infamous "Project W" and his naturally superior genes.

There are a few monsters yet to debut in live-action, including the prototype Tyrant which attacked Wesker in 1996's Resident Evil. Wesker survived the attack and actually became increasing more powerful with every game installment. By the time of Resident Evil 5, he can catch rockets out of the air and he can dodge bullets; he claims that he is a god, which given his abilities, isn't far off. However, Wesker's most important ability is his healing factor, which saved him back in the original game. While this doesn't answer how or why Wesker has completely changed in appearance, it would make sense that Wesker might still need to change bodies after the massive damage he received in 2009. Overall it is possible, considering the man's genetic makeup, that he could have survived and adapted in the 13 years since, opening the door for his return in 2022's Resident Evil.

Next: Resident Evil: Why The Netflix Show Will Be Better Than Another Movie Reboot