Matthew J. Costello is the scriptwriter of RE:4 with a rich background of authorship as a novelist, scriptwriter and game designer. His other video game works include DOOM 3 & RAGE (incl. novelizations), Just Cause 1&2, Planet of the Apes Last Frontier, Walking Dead No Man's Land and The 7th Guest. His novels include a variety of thriller, mystery and horror titles such as Wurm, Homecoming, Unidentified and Midsummer, as well as the King Kong The Island of the Skull prequel novel to the 2005 movie.
His Twitter handle is @katonahprod and his personal website can be found at mattcostello.com, which includes a more complete list of credits.
In April 2023, Matt was very kind to agree to an interview with Project Umbrella RE:Digest, including questions from the community.
His Twitter handle is @katonahprod and his personal website can be found at mattcostello.com, which includes a more complete list of credits.
In April 2023, Matt was very kind to agree to an interview with Project Umbrella RE:Digest, including questions from the community.
1) How did you come to be involved with CAPCOM and RE:4?
I worked with producer Martin Alltimes on a number of projects, including Just Cause 1 & 2, as well as games when he was at Disney. When he partnered with Andy Serkis’ motion capture company to make a narrative game based on Planet of the Apes, he called me in during the early days to begin building it. Eventually my often collaborator Neil Richards joined in that process. On that game – essentially an innovative interactive film -- the director was Steve Kniebihly. Steve later went to Japan to work on a number of Capcom projects, and when he saw an opportunity, he brought be in for the Resident Evil 4 remake.
2) Could you tell us about your writing process and any collaborative back-and-forth with any Japanese writing staff?
It was quite collaborative. Since this was to be based on the classic game, there was starting point for the scenes and dialogue, and indeed the backstory, albeit with area in need of discussion and shaping. I would get a variety of visualizations and rough script ideas (as well as scene questions that would need resolving or clarifying) direct from Capcom. I would review them with the director, and then begin writing both dialogue as well the action script that would guide the actors. For nearly all lines, for all the scenes, I provided multiple takes and approaches, each with a slightly different tone or emphasis. That went back to Steve and the producer Hiro Masuda for much back and forth. And when they were happy, finally onto the team at Capcom who often had further notes and suggestions. Very iterative…
3) Were you given any specific directions from CAPCOM such as things you could not write about, had to write, or any particular ways the plot & characters needed to flow or act?
A good question. I think there were some things in the original that all wanted to avoid for variety of probably obvious reasons. And yet there was the need to be true to the characters and story that so many loved. But that is exactly the kind of challenge that I enjoy. Think the various comments about the character and dialogue of Luis, for example, or Ashley, or even Ada in the remake, reflect my approach to that challenge.
4) What are the roles and functions of the "black water" seen and mentioned throughout the game and files, like causing "madness" after drinking it and being used to create the Novistador etc? Is it related to how Luis' grandfather hears voices after an infected wolf bite?
Think I will pass on this one since this really came from the team at Capcom.
5) Many characters & creatures feature expanded backstories such as a 500 year history to the Saddler bloodline, Luis' career with Umbrella, or Uriartre the creator of the Novistador and Verdugo. Were these also your work and if so, are these to be seen as a new separate history over the original game, or supplemental/replacement to it?
My impression coming onto the project was that, in many cases -- such as the real functional nature of the cult, the beliefs, and even the language used to talk about various events, even the ‘prayers’ said or screamed -- were often somewhat undefined. Perhaps blurry and in need of clarity? With a lot of the back and forth, working with all, the goal was to get language that fit what we all took to be the nature of the true history of all that backstory. So likewise, Luis I think really emerges even more in the remake since his important past is gotten into significantly…and that impacts the character he is in the new game. Same Luis, yes, but also – I hope – deeper, more interesting (and charming!) and even a (spoiler alert) greater loss.
6) Of the cast, Jack Krauser is the most revised, seeming to no longer be working for Wesker towards reviving Umbrella but having a deeper, more personal history with Leon than the original RE4 or Darkside Chronicles. Could you elaborate on the choices for his reimagining?
The team at Capcom were clear that Krauser was going to be different for the remake, largely in his history with Leon – which as you can see – is dominating what he is doing. It’s a classic mentor-student connection, the growing rivalry, that turns into hatred and finally they must inevitably face each other. Which is what happens. I guess my take on it would be, in the end…the emotional history with the other person dominates. Hence it is Krauser vs Leon, and everyone stand back.
7) While the cult of Los Iluminados were exiled to the barren island, how did the Saddler bloodline secure dominant species Plagas for 15 generations?
That is one interesting and detailed question. It is not gone into at all in RE4. I could speculate on a lot of ways that could have been done. If I was doing the novel of the game, that would definitely be a discussion to have and a question to resolve. (I've done similar for other books I've done, for Doom 3, Rage, etc...)
I worked with producer Martin Alltimes on a number of projects, including Just Cause 1 & 2, as well as games when he was at Disney. When he partnered with Andy Serkis’ motion capture company to make a narrative game based on Planet of the Apes, he called me in during the early days to begin building it. Eventually my often collaborator Neil Richards joined in that process. On that game – essentially an innovative interactive film -- the director was Steve Kniebihly. Steve later went to Japan to work on a number of Capcom projects, and when he saw an opportunity, he brought be in for the Resident Evil 4 remake.
2) Could you tell us about your writing process and any collaborative back-and-forth with any Japanese writing staff?
It was quite collaborative. Since this was to be based on the classic game, there was starting point for the scenes and dialogue, and indeed the backstory, albeit with area in need of discussion and shaping. I would get a variety of visualizations and rough script ideas (as well as scene questions that would need resolving or clarifying) direct from Capcom. I would review them with the director, and then begin writing both dialogue as well the action script that would guide the actors. For nearly all lines, for all the scenes, I provided multiple takes and approaches, each with a slightly different tone or emphasis. That went back to Steve and the producer Hiro Masuda for much back and forth. And when they were happy, finally onto the team at Capcom who often had further notes and suggestions. Very iterative…
3) Were you given any specific directions from CAPCOM such as things you could not write about, had to write, or any particular ways the plot & characters needed to flow or act?
A good question. I think there were some things in the original that all wanted to avoid for variety of probably obvious reasons. And yet there was the need to be true to the characters and story that so many loved. But that is exactly the kind of challenge that I enjoy. Think the various comments about the character and dialogue of Luis, for example, or Ashley, or even Ada in the remake, reflect my approach to that challenge.
4) What are the roles and functions of the "black water" seen and mentioned throughout the game and files, like causing "madness" after drinking it and being used to create the Novistador etc? Is it related to how Luis' grandfather hears voices after an infected wolf bite?
Think I will pass on this one since this really came from the team at Capcom.
5) Many characters & creatures feature expanded backstories such as a 500 year history to the Saddler bloodline, Luis' career with Umbrella, or Uriartre the creator of the Novistador and Verdugo. Were these also your work and if so, are these to be seen as a new separate history over the original game, or supplemental/replacement to it?
My impression coming onto the project was that, in many cases -- such as the real functional nature of the cult, the beliefs, and even the language used to talk about various events, even the ‘prayers’ said or screamed -- were often somewhat undefined. Perhaps blurry and in need of clarity? With a lot of the back and forth, working with all, the goal was to get language that fit what we all took to be the nature of the true history of all that backstory. So likewise, Luis I think really emerges even more in the remake since his important past is gotten into significantly…and that impacts the character he is in the new game. Same Luis, yes, but also – I hope – deeper, more interesting (and charming!) and even a (spoiler alert) greater loss.
6) Of the cast, Jack Krauser is the most revised, seeming to no longer be working for Wesker towards reviving Umbrella but having a deeper, more personal history with Leon than the original RE4 or Darkside Chronicles. Could you elaborate on the choices for his reimagining?
The team at Capcom were clear that Krauser was going to be different for the remake, largely in his history with Leon – which as you can see – is dominating what he is doing. It’s a classic mentor-student connection, the growing rivalry, that turns into hatred and finally they must inevitably face each other. Which is what happens. I guess my take on it would be, in the end…the emotional history with the other person dominates. Hence it is Krauser vs Leon, and everyone stand back.
7) While the cult of Los Iluminados were exiled to the barren island, how did the Saddler bloodline secure dominant species Plagas for 15 generations?
That is one interesting and detailed question. It is not gone into at all in RE4. I could speculate on a lot of ways that could have been done. If I was doing the novel of the game, that would definitely be a discussion to have and a question to resolve. (I've done similar for other books I've done, for Doom 3, Rage, etc...)