In a prosperous age for video game adaptations, renewed optimism among audiences is breathing fresh life into franchises.
As adaptions become more abundant, the interest in the approach – whether recreating a game’s story beat for beat, or whether loosely based in the same universe – become central to early production.
Zach Cregger (Barbarian), is helming the upcoming Resident Evil movie and emphasised that it’s an entirely original story – one that won’t feature prominent character Leon Kennedy.
New Resident Evil Movie
Scheduled for release on 18th September 2026, little is known about the plot of the film, even as early casting details begin to emerge.
Cregger has previously said that he’s not seen any of the previous Resident Evil films and is instead more interested in making something that resonates more with fans of the games. He also says that it will be in the world of Resident Evil 2 and 3, but with the tone of 4, perhaps hinting at a greater emphasis on action.
Connections to the Resident Evil Franchise
This, of course, isn’t the first adaption of Resident Evil, although the previous attempts struggled at the box office and drowned in poor reviews.
It comes as at a time when Resident Evil remakes and remasters have been met with critical acclaim. Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil 2: Remake and Resident Evil 4: Remake have been named among the best in the series, so it is the optimal timing for the franchise to continue breaching out.
With the ninth mainline instalment coming up, and the success of TV adaptations at bringing players to their source games well-documented, this could be the perfect time for a fresh effort at the Resident Evil movies.
Zach Cregger Filmography
Zach Cregger’s Barbarian and Weapons have received enormously positive reviews, which bodes well for the upcoming adaptation.
Cregger’s style as seen in both films is to build a horror premise around a theme that’s based in reality , such as misogyny in Barbarian. The central theme of the Resident Evil series is arguably the pursuit of wealth at any cost, with the development of destructive bioweapons being a byproduct of unrelenting capitalistic pursuit.
