Resident Evil (2026 film)
Upcoming film by Zach Cregger
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Resident Evil is an upcoming horror film directed by Zach Cregger, who co-wrote the screenplay with Shay Hatten. It is the second reboot of the Resident Evil film series, based on Capcom's Resident Evil video game franchise. The film, set in modern times, during the alternate events of Resident Evil 2 (1998), follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier who is caught in a viral outbreak of infected monsters in Raccoon City and has to fight for survival. Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Johnno Wilson and Paul Walter Hauser feature in supporting roles.
- Zach Cregger
- Shay Hatten
- Robert Kulzer
- Zach Cregger
- Roy Lee
- Miri Yoon
- Carter Swan
- Asad Qizilbash
| Resident Evil | |
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Teaser poster | |
| Directed by | Zach Cregger |
| Written by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Dariusz Wolski |
| Edited by | Joe Murphy |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures (through Sony Pictures Releasing) |
Release date |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $80 million[1] |
Constantin Film began planning another Resident Evil reboot in early 2022, following the critical and commercial failure of Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) and the cancellation of the 2022 Netflix television series. Cregger was hired to direct in January 2025, and Sony Pictures' PlayStation Productions joined the production. Four studios, including Warner Bros. Pictures and Netflix, bid for distribution rights, with Sony's Columbia Pictures winning in March. Filming began in October 2025 in Prague.
Resident Evil is scheduled to be released on September 18, 2026.
Premise
During the alternate events of Resident Evil 2 (1998),[2] Bryan, a medical courier, is in the process of making a delivery when a sudden outbreak forces him to fight for survival.[3]
Cast
- Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier
- Zach Cherry as Dave, an Umbrella scientist
- Kali Reis as Pauline, an Umbrella scientist
- Paul Walter Hauser as Carl, an Umbrella scientist
- Johnno Wilson as Max, an Umbrella enforcer
Production
Development
Original plans (2021–2024)
Following the release of Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City in November 2021, writer and director Johannes Roberts stated if a sequel were to be developed, he would like to adapt the story from Resident Evil – Code: Veronica (2000)—referenced in the film with an appearance of the Ashford Twins[4][5]—and then Resident Evil 4 (2005). He also expressed interest in adapting Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) and Resident Evil Village (2021) in the future.[6]
Actor Robbie Amell stated he hoped to return as Chris Redfield in a sequel, which included his boulder-punching scene from Resident Evil 5 (2009).[7] By June 2022, actor Tom Hopper confirmed that Sony and Constantin Film were pleased with the film's success on video-on-demand (VOD) and said he hoped to play Albert Wesker again.[8]
By October 2022, the film was one of several projects considered by executive producer Martin Moszkowicz to be in development alongside another television series, which would have replaced Netflix's series cancelled two months prior, though the exact details were not given, and Moszkowicz was skeptical of films being released for theaters if not projected to be successful.[9]
In April 2023, Raccoon HG Productions, which financed Welcome to Raccoon City, received a grant of CA$2 million from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation for a film titled Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. Greater Sudbury was picked as the principle location.[10] According to entertainment journalist Jeff Sneider, the studio was looking at Zach Cregger to direct the new film.[11][12]
Zach Cregger's involvement (2024–present)
In January 2025, it was announced Cregger would co-write and direct a new Resident Evil film, which would serve as a reboot of the film series. Film rights holder Constantin Film co-financed and produced, alongside PlayStation Productions and Vertigo Entertainment. A bidding war between four major studios ensued for the film's distribution rights, including Warner Bros. Pictures and Netflix.[13] In March 2025, it was revealed that Sony Pictures, which had distributed the previous live-action films under their Screen Gems label, won the bidding war, with Sony's subsidiary Columbia Pictures serving as the film's new distributor.[14] In August 2025, Cregger revealed the film would be an original story set in the Resident Evil universe and would not feature any characters from the games, saying, "I'm not going to tell Leon's story, because Leon's story is told in the games. [Fans] already have that".[15] Cregger stated, "It's gonna be not at all like Barbarian (2022) and Weapons (2025)", instead comparing the film to Evil Dead II (1987), and that "this is a story that I would've wanted to write whether I got the IP or not". He went on to describe it as a "love letter to the games", since he is also a player and fan of the video games.[16]
In September 2025, Cregger stated he had never seen any of the previous Resident Evil movies, and the upcoming film would be more closely based on the video game series, particularly Resident Evil 2 (1998), Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), and Resident Evil 4.[17] In an April 2026 interview with PlayStation Blog, Cregger elaborated by stating he wrote the film to take place concurrently with the events of the Raccoon City outbreak in Resident Evil 2, but through a different perspective, set in a modern times alternate history of the video game series.[2]
Cregger stated, "I wanted to construct a story that could live in the world of Resident Evil and be maybe on the periphery of the events of Resident Evil 2, where Raccoon City is having its big night, but tell another story that could be happening in parallel to that that really honors the vibe and the pacing that you get when you play the games."[18]
Casting
In March 2025, Austin Abrams was in talks to star in the film, after having played a role in Cregger's previous film Weapons.[19] This was later confirmed in July.[20] In September, Paul Walter Hauser joined the cast.[21] In October, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Johnno Wilson were announced to have also joined the cast, with Cherry as a scientist and Reis as an ex-military character that was originally written for a male actor.[22]
Filming
Principal photography began in Prague on October 10, 2025, with Dariusz Wolski serving as cinematographer.[22][23][19][24] The film was in the editing process by February 2026.[25]
