Zach Cregger is adamant that his big-screen adaptation of the Resident Evil games will not be a direct remake. This could end up being a good thing for the adaptation, but it's going to disappoint some people.
Variety reports that the Weapons director will create a “love letter” to the games, rather than delve into the stories already told. It will still be loyal to the lore created in the games.
While the reboot may not have the original characters, Cregger has reassured fans of the games that he will respect the roots of the gameplay. “It is obedient to the lore of the games, it’s just a different story,” the writer/director said. “I’m not going to tell Leon’s story, because Leon’s story is told in the games. [Fans] already have that.” So anyone expecting to see Leon Kennedy or Jill Valentine will have to pick up their controller and play the games.
Cregger’s Resident Evil will be the eighth live-action movie based on the popular video games, but don’t expect it to be a direct remake of the games. The Barbarian director admitted that he may not be “completely obedient” to the lore of the game. He told SFX Magazine that while his script is “authentic” to the games, he expects to receive some backlash from the online community. “I don’t think I’m breaking any major rules, but I also recognize that no matter what I do, people are going to come for me online.”
Fans are not too keen on another Resident Evil film straying so far from the games. After all, if Cregger wanted to make a zombie movie that was nothing like the franchise why would he not make another original that was not connected to the IP? Let’s hope the director, whose two previous films have been hits, has learned from the mistakes of the prior films.
It’s a trend in video game remakes to take inspiration from the original IP but stray hugely away from the characters and plot. Halo and Fallout are just two recent TV shows which have been praised and criticized for how they treated the source material. On the flip, many believe the second season of The Last of Us failed because it tried to hard to adapt source material that was not suitable for TV. Sometimes, a creative has to realise what works in one medium doesn’t necessarily in another.
Resident Evil’s biggest draw is its characters. While the world itself is constantly in flux, it’s the characters which keep the story grounded. The only thing that gives us hope that it’s not going to be another a Max Payne or Silent Hill is that Cregger is a fan of the game. Let’s hope because he is familiar with the source material and understands it, he can balance the new and old.
Zach Cregger is not the first person to do his own thing with the IP. 2002’s live-action Resident Evil deviates heavily from the storyline and characters of the game. While it incorporates elements like the evil Umbrella Corporation and the T-virus, Alice (played by Milla Jovovich) is a totally new character, and the narrative is hugely different. These, let’s admit, not great films, could be why people are so worried about the new remake. That and the fact that this is the third time the films have been adapted into live action yet some of the most iconic moments in the game have not yet appeared on the big screen.
Even without Leon, Jill, Ada or Chris, there are loads of interesting elements Cregger could take from the games. There are bioweapons, zombies, mysterious corporations and Racoon City’s creepy atmosphere. Does anyone really play Resident Evil because they think the stories are well-written and nuanced tales? Unlike Final Fantasy and Mass Effect, Resident Evil is not renowned for storytelling. The world-building is far better than any plot, which gives Cregger lots of room to play around with characters, subplots and backstory. Considering what he has done with Weapons and Barbarian, we know Creggler can produce a thrilling, terrifying and thought-provoking story about human nature through the lens of horror.
While no plot has been announced for the upcoming Resident Evil film, film gossip blogger Daniel Richtman claims Austin Abrams will play an organ courier on a late-night mission to Raccoon City hospital. During this trip, he hits a woman with his car, and disaster ensues. At CinemaCon in March, Cregger teased that his adaptation “ follows one central protagonist from point A to point B, as they descend deeper into hell.”
Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil is expected to hit theaters September 18, 2026.