After making the successful horror movies Barbarian and Weapons, writer-director Zach Cregger is directing a Resident Evil movie next. He’s now shared more details about it, including why he decided to adapt a story instead of making another original film.
Speaking to Double Toasted, Cregger said he believes his Resident Evil movie is, in fact, “original,” and viewers will understand that when they see it. He didn’t elaborate on this point, however.
Cregger also said he has never seen any of the half-dozen live-action Resident Evil movies from Paul W.S. Anderson that came before his. “I’ve never seen a Resident Evil movie. If there are people out there who are rabid fans of the movie franchise, they are probably not really prepared for what I am going to be doing. But I think fans of the games are going to be stoked,” he said.
Also in the interview, Cregger said his Resident Evil movie will be “true to the experience” of the video games, and probably “lives in the world” of Resident Evil 2 and 3, but that it adheres more to the tone of Resident Evil 4. The game is not a direct adaptation of any Resident Evil game, however.
Cregger said the video games, too, don’t have a set lore and aren’t rigid with timelines or settings. “I don’t think I am taking any more liberties with this [movie] than the game franchise does. I think I am coloring within the lines,” he said.
“I’ve never seen a movie like it,” he added. “I am beyond excited making this.”
The director added that his sense of tone and his general filmmaking sensibilities honed with Barbarian and Weapons will come through in Resident Evil, albeit on a bigger scale and with a bigger budget.
“It takes place in the world of the games, but most importantly, the journey you’ll have as a viewer watching this movie is going to be similar to the journey you have as a player when you play these games. What that means is it follows one protagonist from point A to point B as they descend deeper and deeper and deeper into hell,” he said. “As someone who has played I don’t know how many thousands and thousands of hours of Resident Evil, I just feel like I know how that pacing can go, and it’s inherently cinematic. I feel like there is a great movie that can live inside this world and inside that sort of pacing. I am really, really pumped about the story that we get to tell here.”
Finally, Cregger confirmed the shooting schedule for Resident Evil, saying cameras are due to begin rolling this October in Prague and continue through the end of January 2026. Why Prague? Cregger cited the city’s generous tax rebates and other factors. “It’s the right place,” he said.
The Resident Evil movie is slated for release in September 2026. Official casting announcements have not been made, but Weapons actor Austin Abrams may appear in it.
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