Summary
- Zach Cregger will co-write and direct the new Resident Evil film reboot, sparking intrigue among fans.
- The adaptation may remain more faithful to the game series, with a possible European setting.
- Potential game inspirations for the film include Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, and Resident Evil 8: Village.
The new Resident Evil film reboot is set to release on September 18, 2026, and it’s confirmed that Zach Cregger will co-write and direct the upcoming adaptation. Cregger gained notoriety from his writing and directorial debut for The Barbarian (2022), a cult hit that instantly made Cregger a respected name in the horror genre. When announcing his second title, Weapons, he sparked a bidding war for the project, which was eventually won by Warner’s New Line division.
Cregger helming the new Resident Evil Reboot has sparked intrigue among fans. The Resident Evil film series, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich, was widely regarded by fans of the game as very poor adaptations that strayed very far from the unique soul of the game series. After the film series eventually concluded in 2016, there was another attempt in 2021 to adapt the franchise for the big screen in the form of Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City, which fared even worse with fans. So with that track record, it’s interesting that Constantin Film (the studio that made the six Paul W.S. Anderson films) have decided to try again, but this choice of director could suggest they have listened to the feedback and are venturing out for their third attempt.
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At this point, very little is known about the actual film itself. However, The Hollywood Reporter has suggested that this adaptation will remain more faithful to the games. Cregger is currently scouting locations in Europe, which already suggests that he’s going in a different direction to the preceding adaptations. The narrative of the Paul W.S. Anderson films strayed very far from the game’s, but it started out based in Raccoon City. As did Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (obviously), which combined the narratives of the Resident Evil 1 and 2 games.
If the main location for the upcoming film is going to be somewhere in Europe, then it’s a pretty safe bet that the film will be based around one of the other Resident Evil games in the series that hasn’t yet been previously adapted. Or it could focus on an entirely new story set somewhere in Europe, but based on the rumors that the game will be more faithful to the source material, this is unlikely. Raccoon City is a fictional place based on an all-American (potentially Midwest) town. So it’s very likely the iconic city will not make a reappearance in Cregger’s adaptation, meaning fans can mostly rule out Resident Evil 1-3 as the film’s inspiration. So what other options are there from the game series to borrow from?
Option 1: Resident Evil 4
The original Resident Evil 4 and the remake are considered among Resident Evil fans as one of, if not, the best entries in the series. The game is set somewhere in rural Spain, and sees Leon Kennedy on a mission to save the president’s daughter, Ashley Graham, after she is kidnapped by a religious cult under the influence of a mind-controlling parasite. The plot of the game sounds like it would be a perfect fit for a big-screen action adventure zombie horror film. After all, that is what the Resident Evil games attempt to emulate, especially in the case of Resident Evil 4. Fans would get a new story with a fresh location but a familiar face in Leon Kennedy, a fan favorite and symbol of the franchise.
Option 2: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was the seventh main addition to the Resident Evil franchise, and it came after the release of Resident Evil 5 and 6, which left fans a little disappointed with how far removed the gameplay was from its original survival horror origins. Biohazard was much more stripped back and focused, featuring only one location and a new protagonist, Ethan Winters, searching for his missing wife. The team working on Biohazard took inspiration from the 1981 horror film The Evil Dead to help get a more classic survival horror-based feel, meaning it could be the perfect game to bring back to cinema.
Zach Cregger recently described his take on Resident Evil at CinemaCon (via Deadline), saying “There’s a moment that comes in every moment of every Resident Evil game where you find yourself standing in the mouth of a dark passageway. One shot in the gun is left, you know that something horrible is waiting for you in that darkness, that awful moment where you have to will yourself. That’s something that every Resident Evil game has perfected and has kept me and millions of other players returning to the series for decades.” That’s certainly a promising outlook for what kind of movie fans can expect, but it was what he said next that may indicate leaning toward a Resident Evil 7 type setting:
My movie will be built in the spirit of those games and follows one central protagonist from point A to point B, as they descend deeper into hell.
That certainly sounds like the premise of Biohazard, which saw Ethan Winters descending further into darkness and more frightening circumstances as he attempted to escape the Baker family home.
Some fans may be thinking to themselves, “Wasn’t Biohazard set in Louisiana?” and they would be absolutely right. However, unlike the game’s featuring Raccoon City, the location featured in Biohazard isn’t as inherently American, and could be filmed somewhere in rural Europe. The main location in Biohazard that Ethan explores is a derelict plantation set somewhere in the countryside. Additionally, the game’s gray swampy aesthetic isn’t too dissimilar to Resident Evil 4‘s, which, as we know, was set in Spain, so if Cregger is scouting for a Biohazard-type location, it’s possible that Europe would be a good fit for one.
Option 3: Resident Evil 8: Village
Resident Evil: Village is the most recent installation in the franchise and introduces a new villain, Lady Dimitrescu, in a castle setting somewhere in Eastern Europe. The location of the game makes it a contender as a possible influence for the upcoming adaptation. It would make sense to adapt this film as it is the game’s most recent release, so it’s fresh in the minds of the players. However, Village is a sequel to Biohazard and continues with Ethan Winters’ story where he is now looking for his kidnapped daughter. So, if Cregger does decide on exploring Ethan’s story arc, it would make more sense to start with Biohazard, so audiences have a full understanding of the character and his motivation.
Whatever direction Cregger decides to take on the upcoming Resident Evil film reboot, fans can expect something new and fresh. And with Cregger’s proven skills in the horror genre, they can also have faith in his abilities to give Resident Evil the faithful film adaptation it has been waiting a very long time to receive.
