The Resident Evil franchise doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to live-action movies. Beginning in 2002, the Milla Jovovich-led Resident Evil movie series was never a hit with critics. Currently, all six Resident Evil movies have a Metacritic score below 50, with the majority of the series not even reaching 40. The 2021 reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, didn’t fair much better, with it sitting at a Metascore of just 44.
But according to The Hollywood Reporter, Resident Evil‘s forays into live-action aren’t over just yet. Per a THR report from January 24, Barbarian writer and director Zach Cregger is in the process of creating another live-action Resident Evil reboot, and the project is currently the subject of a fierce bidding war between major studios like Warner Bros. and Netflix. Given Cregger’s past work, there’s hope that this can finally be the Resident Evil live-action adaptation fans deserve, and Capcom might have the perfect video game to accompany its eventual release.
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The Resident Evil Reboot Movie Should Release Alongside an RE Game
The Resident Evil Movie Reboot Might Hearken Back to Classic RE Entries
Though Zach Cregger was primarily known as a comedic actor, writer, and director, he made his first foray into horror with 2022’s Barbarian, which he wrote and directed. Though Barbarian wasn’t a huge commercial or critical success, it’s earned quite a sizable cult following in the years since its release.
If Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot is anything like Barbarian, then fans can probably expect it to be fairly small scale. Rather than being set in sprawling underground facilities with elaborate Sci-Fi traps, and rather than boasting a large cast of well-known actors, Cregger’s Resident Evil is much more likely to feature a claustrophobic setting, a limited cast, and probably very few action set pieces, if any at all. The movie will likely feel more in line with the original set of Resident Evil games than later action-focused entries like Resident Evil 5 and 6.
The Resident Evil Movie Reboot Might Be The Perfect Time to Release a Resident Evil Remake
As such, it might be a good idea for Capcom to release a remake of a classic Resident Evil game alongside the movie, letting fans play through a reinvented smaller-scale RE experience with (presumably) similar vibes to the movie. The long-rumored Resident Evil 0 remake would be a great choice, with its claustrophobic train carriages and facility corridors likely offering a similar atmosphere to the movie. Though, according to recent leaks, the Resident Evil 0 remake might be quite far along in development, and thus will likely be ready to ship long before Cregger’s RE movie hits the silver screen.
Alternatively, a remake of the first Resident Evil game could fit the bill. Though it already received an excellent remake all the way back in 2002, there have been rumors that a new Resident Evil 1 remake could be in the works, this time with a third-person over-the-shoulder camera akin to the RE2 and RE3 remakes. Leaker Dusk Golem has previously claimed this remake could land in 2026, which seems more in line with Cregger’s upcoming reboot.
- Released
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November 12, 2002
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood and Gore