The lead role in Netflix's "Resident Evil" live-action series has finally been cast. Lance Reddick, best known for his roles as Cedric Daniels in "THE WIRE" and Sharon in "John Wick," will star in the series as Albert Wesker, the longtime villain of the "Resident Evil" games.

This is not just notable because Reddick is a beloved actor. He is the first person of color to play Albert Wesker in the "Resident Evil" series. The series was first announced in August 2020. Today's casting news came during the Netflix Geeked Week stream, which revealed that the series has begun production.

Netflix's "Resident Evil" show will launch with an eight-episode first season, with each episode lasting one hour.

Reddick will be Sienna Agdon ("No Good Nick"), Ella Balinska ("Charlie's Angels"), Paola Nunez ("Bad Boys for Life"), Tamara Smart ("The Babysitter's Guide to Finding Monsters") Adeline Rudolph ("Riverdale") join them.

It is not certain who they will play; Netflix previously announced that Wesker's children, Jade and Billy, will appear in the series. It is not known about Wesker's son, Jake Muller, who appeared in the previous film.

The series will be directed by Andrew Dove ("Supernatural"), who wrote the script for Episode 1. Bronwen Hughes ("The Walking Dead") directed the first two episodes.

In a news release announcing the series, Dove called "Resident Evil" his "favorite game of all time," before stating that he is "incredibly excited to tell this new chapter in this amazing story and bring the first ever 'Resident Evil' series to Netflix members worldwide." He stated.

Details have yet to be revealed, but Geeked Week co-host Rahul Kohli promised to "put a whole new spin on Resident Evil." We do know that the film will be set in New Raccoon City, where the secrets of the Umbrella Corporation will be exposed.

An earlier report via Variety noted that the series will be set "about 30 years after the discovery of the T-virus, when an outbreak reveals the dark secrets of the Umbrella Corporation."