The original prosthetic mask used for the original Resident Evil 2 cover has been found after 27 years, it's been revealed online.
The fascinating discovery was shared over on Facebook, where Brandon Salisbury — the director of the documentary George A. Romero's Resident Evil about the Dawn of the Dead director's unrealized Resident Evil film project — announced that he had managed to acquire the iconic piece, alongside some of the applications that were used for Romero's Resident Evil 2 commercial.
"I am super pleased to be able to share this," Salisbury wrote on the social media website. "I have acquired some of the applications used in George A. Romero's RESIDENT EVIL 2 commercial, including one of the most iconic pieces, used for the cover of the Japanese and European versions. The rest will be divided up to various organizations that I'll be discussing within a week so that they are preserved and made available for the public."
In case you're unaware of the story of Romero's involvement with Resident Evil, at one point, in the 90s, he was temporarily attached to put together a film adaptation of the games, with the help of producer Peter Grunwald, for Constantin Films and was also responsible for directing a live-action trailer for the second game starring Brad Renfro and Adrienne Frantz as Leon and Claire.
However, as the story goes, Constantin eventually dropped Romero from the Resident Evil film, partnering with a young English director named Paul W. S. Anderson instead. This to 2002's Resident Evil, starring Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez.
An early script from Romero's film surfaced online in 2001 and has been shared around the internet quite a bit in the years since leading many fans to wonder what might have been if Romero had been able to fulfill his vision.
As you might expect after 27 years, the mask looks a little worse for wear. Not only has it yellowed quite significantly, for instance, but it has also received a couple of tears (including a noticeable one on the forehead). Remarkably, though, it seems to have survived the years, with Salisbury managing to track it down as part of his continuing interest in the franchise.
We reached out to Salisbury for more info and here's what he said about the items, "Through my work on the documentary and continuing research, I reached out to Mike McGee, one of the artists that worked on the commercial. I inquired if he would be willing to sell the prosthetics for the purpose of preservation and he agreed. The first lot was sent and will be donated to the Living Dead Museum held within the Monroeville Mall where George Romero's original Dawn of the Dead was filmed. The other lots will be donated to other organizations once I receive them.
"While I am spending my own money to secure these items, I am making no profit from them. They will be donated to various places so they can be viewed by the public."