Source: Bloody Disgusting

Sony Screen Gems is looking ahead: even though Resident Evil: Afterlife, the fourth film in the series starring Milla Jovovich, is currently in pre-production, the studio is considering Resident Evil Begins as the franchise's fifth entry.

The proposed plotline for the film would be identical to the original film: an elite military team investigates a science lab after a terrible accident, only to be terrorized by a malfunctioning supercomputer.

The first Resident Evil film racked up $102.4 million in worldwide box office back in 2002, while the sequel, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, did even better, scoring $129.3 million in 2004. The most recent entry, Resident Evil: Extinction, continued the uphill climb, scoring a series-best $147.7 million in late 2007. A computer-generated film based more closely on the games, called Resident Evil: Degeneration, was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in December 2008.

Resident Evil: Afterlife is currently scheduled to open in 3D on August 27, 2010.