"No matter what I do, people are going to come for me online": Director of new Resident Evil movie explains why he's "not trying to be completely obedient to the games"

Zach Cregger, the filmmaker behind the new Resident Evil movie, is keen to let fans of the franchise to know ahead of time that his adaptation won't be "completely obedient to the lore of the games".

While the filmmaker doesn't specify how (or how much) his take differs from the source material in the new issue of SFX magazine, which features Alien: Earth on the cover and hits newsstands on Wednesday, July 16, he doesn't think it breaks "any major rules." 

Cregger, who's best known for helming twisty horror hit Barbarian, explains: "I am a gigantic Resident Evil game fan. I've played them all. I don't know how many times I've just looped [RE4] again and again. I just love it. I'm definitely not trying to be completely obedient to the lore of the games; 

"I'm trying to tell a story that just feels authentic to the experience you get when you play the games. I don't think I’m breaking any major rules, but I also recognize that no matter what I do, people are going to come for me online," he candidly continues. "So all I want to do is just make a really good movie and tell a story that's compelling. I know that I'm gonna be happy with the movie, and hopefully other people will, too."

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Since it's not even begun filming yet, little is known about Cregger's big-screen Resi outing, which he co-wrote with Shay Hatten -- though there are rumors circulating that it'll center on a down-on-his-luck courier who's tasked with delivering a package to a remote hospital. En route, he finds himself caught in the middle of a viral apocalypse and forced to fight hordes of mutated creatures. Austin Abrams (Euphoria, Wolfs) is the only actor linked to the project so far, and even then his involvement has not been confirmed.

If he is cast, the film will mark the second collaboration between Cregger and Abrams, following upcoming mystery thriller Weapons. Starring Dune's Josh Brolin and Fantastic Four's Julia Garner, it centers on a small-town community which been shattered by the sudden disappearance of a bunch of neighborhood kids. The most bizarre part? All of the missing children were students in a local teacher's glass. Was she complicit? Brolin's devastated father is going to find out...

Resident Evil releases on September 18, 2026, while Weapons comes out on August 8. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which will be available from Wednesday, July 16. Here's the Alien: Earth cover you need to be looking out for on newsstands below...