Jill Valentine Actress: Who Is Hannah John-Kamen?

Jill Valentine will get a whole new actress that’s for sure. And a whole another movie, but more on that a bit later. Who is the potential Jill Valentine actress you might ask? Well, the casting of Jill Valentine is a rumor at this point, but the Hollywood rumor mill says that Hannah John-Kamen has been offered this role.

Now, I’ve written extensively about the Resident Evil franchise, and especially the movies starring Milla Jovovich. Certainly, I’ve explored the movies in several different posts, and I even discussed their quality (or lack thereof). I’ve mentioned the remastered Resident Evil game, but for now, let’s focus on the reboot, that is apparently in development. Because, why not?

We already have plenty of Resident Evil games to pick and choose from here at IndieGala. So click and choose your entertainment in these troubling times. You won’t regret it.

Jill Valentine Actress and what we know about the casting?

However, before I present Hannah John-Kamen, I must mention that her casting is not confirmed yet. Hannah John-Kamen is currently in talks for the role. And there’s no official mention on how many other actresses are being offered that same role as well. You know, besides her. Especially considering that it’s a lead role in a reboot. Unlike the supporting role that Jill Valentine had in the Resident Evil film franchise.

We also don’t know about any other actress that is currently negotiating for the role of Jill Valentine. Besides Hannah that is. Things are kept strictly on a rumor basis, but the management team behind miss Hannah is the loudest in lobbying on her behalf. I guess that’s good management. Don’t you think?

Jill Valentine Actress and what we know about the reboot?

And what about the reboot? Well, information about it is scarce, but the rights holders, Constantin Film, announced the reboot back in 2017. However, the appointment of Johannes Roberts as director of the reboot is apparently a done deal, even from now. Not to mention, the actress who will fill the Jill Valentine shoes, must also commit to multiple movie deals. Which means that there’s more than one movie planned. And some other actors are in talks for the roles of Claire and Chris Redfield. But that’s a topic for a different post.

Also, the plans for the reboot are to make the new projects as faithful to the video games as possible. But time will tell on that.  Previously, the role of Jill Valentine was occupied by the English actress Sienna Guillory. The character first appeared in Resident Evil: Apocalypse, but Valentine was also a supporting role in the movies that followed.

But for now, let’s focus on the actress currently considered for the role of Jill Valentine. Who is Hannah John-Kamen, and where have you seen her previously?

Who is Hannah John-Kamen?

Born in and raised in the UK, Hannah began her career in the video-game industry. For real. Back in 2011, she did voice work for the cult video game Dark Souls. In that same year, she starred in two iconic British TV shows: Misfits and Black Mirror. Since then she starred in cult TV shows like Game Of Thrones and she started 2020 with a new Netflix TV series – The Stranger.

If you haven’t checked The Stranger, do it! It’s really good. Hannah plays the lead role (that of the Stranger) and it’s fantastic. Tense and with lots of suspense, The Stranger is a true Netflix gem. I came for the wonderful Richard Armitage but I stayed watching The Stranger for her too.

And although her movie career has been shorter, there’s no denying that it’s not eclectic and varied. For instance, did you know that she has 3 different film franchise under her belt? Did you know that Hannah was part of Star Wars, Tomb Raider and Marvel’s Ant-Man franchise? Yup.

Hannah was part of Star Wars, Tomb Raider and Marvel franchises

 Although her role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens was reduced to the First-order officer, she was Lara Croft’s friend in the 2018’s Tomb Raider reboot. Yes, her first roles were small, but who started at the top?

That same year, Hannah starred in Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One and of course in Ant-Man and The Wasp. If you recall she played the tortured Ava Starr / Ghost in the Marvel movie and it was that role that got her noticed in Hollywood.  And as for this year, a new TV show and a new movie are on the agenda for her. Hanna is set to star in the SF series Brave New World and the action thriller SAS: red Notice. So, make sure to check her out in those projects too.

Is she a good Jill Valentine Actress?

Well, I’ll leave that to you to decide. I’ll just mention that Hanna is roughly the same age as Sienna Guillory was when she first tackled the role. Sienna was 29, while she is 30. They’re both British, with the only difference that Hannah is of mixed heritage. Everything else is pretty much the same. 

And according to multiple sources, the studio is keen on finding actresses of such background, so that’s why the role was offered to her. And presumably to plenty of other actresses as well. Now, considering that Jill Valentine is going to be a lead role in the reboot, and not a supporting one, it’s safe to say that plenty of other actresses would kill for this role. The casting process is underway and a nice tactic on behalf of Hannah’s team is the media exposure. Like I said, her management team is making some noise to get her the part, so kudos for that. Whether or not she’s going to get picked for the role of Jill Valentine, time will tell.

Jill Valentine Actress: Your thoughts

What do you think? Is Hannah John-Kamen the right actress for this role? Will she be able to do the character justice? What’s your opinion on the announced reboot? Tell us all about it in the comment section. We’d love to know.