Here’s Everything We Know About The Resident Evil Reboot
The survival horror experience is being resurrected by a new horror darling.
While adaptation doesn’t necessarily justify or elevate a work of art, there’s perhaps no better testament to the persistence and cultural resonance of the Resident Evil franchise than the fact that Hollywood has already tried and failed to bring it to live-action three separate times. Paul W.S. Anderson, Andrew Dabb, and Johannes Roberts each inhabited the beloved zombie series in their own way, only to be rejected by critics and fans for a wide variety of reasons. Part of it stems from a refusal to provide a straightforward adaptation of the games’ story, which has pros and cons, but part of it is also the fact that none of the three tellings focused on the creeping dread and survivalist desperation that made the first few games so chilling.
That could finally be set to change, however, as the next time Resident Evil returns to theaters, it’ll be courtesy of a trendy horror newcomer. Zach Cregger, in just two movies, has already become a contemporary champion of the genre, and he’s done it with movies that vary drastically in tone and subgenre. His first horror movie, Barbarian, was a throwback to ‘70s Tobe Hooper-adjacent exploitation shlock with an undercurrent of social commentary, and his second, Weapons, was a moodier, more thematically elusive witch movie. If anyone can recreate the oppressive terror of the original Resident Evil trilogy, it might just be him, and thankfully, we won’t have to wait long to see his vision of Raccoon City.
When Is The Resident Evil Release Date?
Just in time for the start of spooky season, Resident Evil has a planned release date of September 18, 2026.
Hopefully, Cregger can replicate the isolation, chaos, and sheer terror of the Raccoon City outbreak.
What Is The Plot Of Resident Evil?
Despite 11 mainline game releases and seven live-action adaptations (six of which create their own story), the overarching narrative of Resident Evil is fairly well-known: the Umbrella Corporation, an international pharmaceutical company, moonlights as a bio-organic weapons manufacturer, and their latest creation, the T-virus, transforms living organisms into grotesque monstrosities that run rampant. You play as various survivors across the games (from Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine of the ill-fated STARS police task force to rookie cop turned special forces heartthrob Leon S. Kennedy), each attempting to thwart the Umbrella Corporation and stop whatever nightmarish experiment they’ve unleashed upon the world — if they can survive, naturally.
Although Cregger confirmed that his upcoming film will be modeled after, and take place around, Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, it won’t directly adapt those games. While we don’t have many details on Cregger’s original story, we do know that the film will follow a medical courier named Bryan, who finds himself trapped in Raccoon City “as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in chaos.” It seems safe to assume that the one night we spend with Bryan will be the cataclysmic outbreak that led to Raccoon City being quarantined in Resident Evil 2, with fans getting to see a different perspective of an event that would define the next decade of the franchise.
As terrifying as Resident Evil 2 is, imagine how much worse it would be for an unarmed nobody.
Is There a Trailer for Resident Evil?
Not yet, but we’ll update this page with a link and more plot details when one finally drops.
Who Is In The Cast Of Resident Evil?
It doesn’t appear that Cregger’s Resident Evil will be a massive ensemble, like in Paul W.S. Anderson's or Johannes Roberts’ films. Instead, it seems the movie will focus on immersing the audience in Bryan’s journey, allowing viewers to experience the Raccoon City outbreak from the singular, boots-on-the-ground perspective of an everyday Joe who ends up in a horrifying situation. Resident Evil is confirmed to star:
- Austin Abrams as Bryan
- Paul Walter Hauser as Carl
- Zach Cherry as Dave
- Kali Reis as Pauline
- Johno Wilson as Max
It’s not known how big a role any of these characters will play in Bryan’s journey, but if the movie is truly evoking the ruthlessness and shock of the games, then many of them aren’t long for this world. Zach Cregger has thrived at creating unpredictable, nerve-shredding films designed to be watched through your fingers, and if early reports are to be believed, this one is just as terrifying as his previous two, with high-octane, all-gas-no-brakes pacing. Whether it will satisfy long-term fans of the franchise is hard to gauge, but maybe we can finally trust that Resident Evil will at least be as frightening as its source material.
