Sony and Screen Gems may be eyeing Devil May Cry as their next videogame-to-film franchise, but they've not given up on the last one yet. Lest we forget, Resident Evil: Afterlife topped the box office on its (admittedly quiet) opening weekend last autumn, which is all the justification the studio needed to keep going. The as-yet-untitled Resident Evil 5 is now scheduled for release on September 14, 2012.

Milla Jovovich threatened as much in the immediate wake of Afterlife's release, enthusing "it's the biggest film in the franchise; lets do Resi 5 soon!" So while there are absolutely no details of script, director or cast yet, her involvement, along with her producer/director/series honcho husband Paul WS Anderson seems assured. Last we heard, the pair were hitting the interwebs for some fan interaction to determine where to take the films next.

Leon Kennedy in ye olde Europe? Sheva Alomar in Africa? The films aren't renowned for their fidelity to the games, so don't hold your breath for either of those things. The last one ended with a cliffhanger involving Jill Valentine and the evil Umbrella Corporation, who are now controlling people with devices nicked from Cronos.

Do, however, expect 3D and slow-motion and bizarro plotting: our favourite device so far was the virus that could drink rivers, with Milla's briefly functioning telekenetic superpowers a close second. So far these films have been critic-and-fanboy-proof, so we'll see if the fifth can continue the odd trend of being massively successful in the face of apparent universal vilification.

To be honest though, in spite of ourselves, we could listen to Perfect Circle and watch Milla all day. Maybe that's the magic formula...