Zach Cregger, the director of the upcoming Resident Evil movie, has confirmed that his adaptation of the popular video game series won’t feature any familiar faces.
Speaking to Empire Magazine, Cregger explains that this movie is, “really a Zach Cregger movie that just happens to be a Resident Evil movie.” As such, fans of the series shouldn’t go into the movie expecting to see the likes of Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield joining up with new protagonist Bray in Raccoon City.
Cregger’s reasoning for this is as follows: “To try and shoehorn in any of those characters would feel inorganic to this self-contained story.
“I have to put the story first and foremost.”
Cregger also tells the magazine that he thought up the idea for the Resident Evil movie’s story while working on Barbarian. He then pitched it to Constantin Film, which owns the movie rights to Resident Evil, and wrote a script once it was greenlit.
The self-contained story will be set in Raccoon City during 1998 – around the same time as the infamous Raccoon City incident that saw the t-virus outbreak. While Resident Evil 2 is also set at the same time as this with Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy also existing in Raccoon City, it doesn’t sound like Cregger has any intentions of putting them in his movie.
As such, he says he feels as though he’s been on ‘an apology tour’ while doing press junkets ahead of the film’s release. Speaking to The Playlist, he said: “I feel like I’ve been on somewhat of an apology tour. I feel like I’m running for office, trying to get these people not to call me a LARPer.”
Despite some backlash from certain corners of the Resident Evil fandom, others reckon there’s nothing to worry about.
“As a Resident Evil fan, telling an original story set in the world of the games seems like a WAY better idea than trying to adapt the convoluted nonsense that is the actual games stories and characters,” reads one Reddit comment.
Another adds: “This entire discourse is annoying. If fans want the exact same story as the game they should… play the actual game.”
Meanwhile, a third says: “The Netflix show had a Dua Lipa dance break. It can only get better from here.”
The Resident Evil movie releases in theatres on September 18, 2026.
