Die-hard Resident Evil fans have been up in arms about Zach Cregger’s take on the beloved video game franchise, saying that the trailer looks nothing like the games. But weeks before the film comes out in mid-September, Cregger is eager to put those worries to rest.
“I happen to worship these Resident Evil games and pull a lot of inspiration from the experience of playing them,” the filmmaker says in one of Resident Evil’s latest promotional videos.
Rather than adapting a story from the nine mainline games, from the first installment released in 1996 to 2026’s Resident Evil Requiem, Cregger borrows various gameplay elements to supplement an original story.
“I tried to keep changing the environment every seven or eight minutes like the games,” said the Weapons and Barbarian director. The film will also see its protagonist, medical courier Bryan Hodukavich (Austin Abrams), use more powerful weapons as the story progresses, just like players do in the games. “The games always kind of have this progression where you start with a pistol, then you graduate to a shotgun. And then you graduate to a machine gun.”
Bryan will also come across other items that may be familiar to players, like padlocks (“What’s with all the padlocks?” Bryan says in a clip), healing spray cans, green herbs, and typewriters, which, in the games, serve as checkpoints for players to save their progress.
“This is an opportunity for me to be loyal to the games in spirit and in tone, and build a story that just puts you in that scenario again and again and again with increasing stakes.”
Where the ‘Resident Evil’ Film Stands in the Video Game Franchise
A huge point of frustration for some fans may be that they want to see their favorite video game protagonists front the upcoming film. However, instead of seeing Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, or even Ethan Winters in action, fans will have to watch an entirely new character, Bryan, fight monsters, hunt for ammo, and probably pour First Aid Med over his hands to regain health points.
Still, other parts of the story may not be so alienating. For one, we already know the film takes place in the fictional Raccoon City during a zombie outbreak, which sounds just like 1998’s Resident Evil 2. Recently, the film’s official social media pages also posted Bryan’s delivery ID, which says that the charges for his mysterious but urgent delivery job should be billed to Umbrella Corporation, the fictional biotech company at the core of the Resident Evil franchise.
We still don’t know if any of our favorite characters will be making a cameo, or where exactly Cregger’s adaptation fits in the video games’ timeline. We’ll just have to see when Resident Evil comes out in regular and IMAX theaters in the Philippines on September 16.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rather than adapting a specific mainline title, Cregger built an original story around gameplay elements he pulled from the franchise, including its Raccoon City setting, weapon progression system, and recurring items like herbs and typewriters.
The protagonist is Bryan Hodukavich, played by Austin Abrams, a medical courier and new, original character.
Director Zach Cregger says he changes the film’s environment roughly every seven to eight minutes, mirroring the games’ level progression, and has Bryan’s weapons escalate from a pistol to a shotgun to a machine gun as the story advances.
The film’s promotional materials show Bryan’s delivery ID billing an urgent courier job to Umbrella Corporation, the fictional biotech company at the center of the Resident Evil games’ outbreak storylines.
Resident Evil opens in regular and IMAX theaters in the Philippines on September 16, 2026, two days ahead of its international release.
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