‘I Want to Celebrate Everything I Love About the Games’: Zach Cregger’s New Resident Evil Movie Looks Like a Blast

Zach Cregger loves the Resident Evil franchise, and he’s quickly becoming a major name in horror directing. He recently achieved great success with his popular 2023 film, Weapons.

Early screenings of his latest movie—a fresh reimagining of Capcom’s popular horror series—have earned widespread critical acclaim. Sony Pictures and PS Productions are backing the film.

And here’s our very first look at the movie, starring Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXt2p5l_tbg

Our initial takeaway after watching the trailer is two-fold:

  • It doesn’t immediately scream Resident Evil to us
  • It looks absolutely awesome anyway

Speaking with the PS Blog, Cregger perhaps anticipated that response, and addressed it directly:

I wanted to create a movie that mirrored the structure of the games – a character’s journey from beginning to end. The games excel at taking you on an intense adventure through diverse settings with constantly increasing stakes, which feels naturally suited for film. My goal was to tell a new story within the Resident Evil universe, one that hadn’t already been explored in the games. Retelling Leon’s story, for example, wouldn’t work because the games already handle it so well – it would feel repetitive and ultimately unsatisfying. Instead, I wanted to honor what I love about the games by crafting a story that could happen alongside the main events of one of them.

According to Cregger, the movie will include lots of connections to the larger Resident Evil universe. It’s set during the events of Resident Evil 2, when Raccoon City falls into chaos.

The movie will mirror the games’ sense of progression. Bryan’s skills and weapons will improve as the story goes on, and he’ll travel to more and more diverse locations. Plus, you’ll see all the classic health items fans remember.

As a fan, I’ve seen Sony go for straight-up game adaptations before, like with Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City which didn’t quite hit the mark. But now, it feels like they’re doing something different – telling a story within the universe, and they’ve even brought on a really amazing director to help! It’s a promising change of pace.

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2026-04-30 17:37