Hot off the release of international hit Weapons, Zach Cregger’s take on the Capcom zombie universe, Resident Evil, releases during the series’ 30th anniversary.
Sony Pictures will distribute the film through Columbia Pictures after winning a bidding war against Warner Bros. and Netflix.
Film News Blitz’s RC Stacey gives the latest.
Zach Cregger promises ‘weird, fun, wild’ reboot for ‘Resident Evil’
Following on from the critical and commercial successes of Barbarian and Weapons, horror cinema’s new favourite creator has crafted a new Resident Evil film, based on the 30 year franchise.
Releasing in IMAX and cinemas in September, this second live-action reboot hopes to rid our minds of the critical and commercial failure of Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) and the original film series of the mid-to-late 00’s, all of which heavily deviated from the source material.
However, Cregger has been very vocal that he is not replicating any story from any of the games, and prefers to capture the atmosphere and ‘vibe’ of the games instead.
Cregger, as quoted by Ringer, “It’s gonna be not at all like Barbarian and Weapons. It’s going to be a rock ’em, sock ’em… it’s for me to play. And turn my brain off and just make an… Evil Dead 2… get crazy with the camera. Austin Abrams is gonna be my guy. It’s a weird, fun, wild story.”
Principal photography began in Prague back in October 2025, and whilst details of the film are closely under wraps, Cregger himself has said that “this is a story that I would’ve wanted to write whether I got the IP or not”, quoted by Bloody Disgusting after comparing his take on the zombie horror to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead 2.
Executive Producer and Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berbin said, in light of the success of his first two films, Cregger has been given “carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to do with that IP.”
When is ‘Resident Evil’ coming to cinemas?
The new film releases in the same year as the ninth mainline entry into the video-game franchise, with Resident Evil: Requiem (which recently featured Maika Monroe in a live action trailer) releasing in February 2026.
Co-writing the script is Shay Hatten, screenwriter of John Wick 3 and 4, and starring Austin Abrams, Paul Walter Hauser, and Kali Reis, Resident Evil hits theatres 18 September 2026.
Excited for Cregger’s unique take on the Resident Evil world? Hopefully it fares better than the recent Return to Silent Hill video game adaptation.
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