Zach Cregger, known for his work on horror films Weapons and Barbarian, is directing a new Resident Evil movie based on the long-running video game franchise that has sold 213 million copies since its 1996 debut. The adaptation centers on an original character named Bryan, a courier played by Austin Abrams, who becomes caught in a viral outbreak while delivering a package to a hospital in Raccoon City, a location from the games.
When the film’s first trailer was released online, many fans expressed frustration about the absence of beloved characters and familiar monsters from the game series. Cregger acknowledged being unprepared for this response, describing himself as naive about audience expectations. The director stated he aimed to create a film honoring the experience of playing the games rather than directly adapting their storylines.
Critical reception has been generally positive, with reviewers praising Cregger’s approach to translating the video game experience into a cinematic format. NME gave the film three stars and questioned whether it might be the first great horror movie game adaptation, while Looper awarded it eight out of ten. Doug Jamieson of The Jam Report gave four stars, noting that Cregger understands adaptation as translation rather than imitation.
Cregger confirmed that nobody from Capcom, the game’s developer, contacted him during production, though BBC Newsbeat was informed there was coordination between the developer and producers behind the scenes. Constantin Film, the German production company that holds the live-action rights, declined to comment. Cregger indicated that pleasing all fans is impossible, and he pursued what he believed would be the strongest story rather than attempting a faithful recreation of the games’ narratives.
The film comes as recent video game adaptations like Minecraft and Super Mario Bros achieved box office success despite critical panning. Previous Resident Evil films, including six movies overseen by Paul WS Anderson featuring his wife Milla Jovovich, and a 2021 reboot and 2022 Netflix series, did not achieve critical acclaim. Industry reports suggest Constantin Film’s agreement with Capcom has prevented films from existing in the same timeline as the games.
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