The Resident Evil film series consists of science fiction action-horror films loosely based on the Capcom video games of the same name. Constantin Film bought the rights to the first film in January 1997 with Alan B. McElroy and George A. Romero as potential writers. In 2001, Sony Entertainment acquired distribution rights and hired Paul W. S. Anderson as writer and director for the first film (2002). Anderson continued on as writer and producer for the sequels, Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), and returned as the director for Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) and Resident Evil: Retribution (2012).