The new movie from CAPCOM’s popular Resident Evil franchise is taking shape. Announced a few months ago at CinemaCon, this Sony project placed Zach Cregger in the director’s chair, and since then the production team has worked nonstop. While fans debate exactly where this new story fits within the canon, Cregger, for his part, has explained that it takes place in parallel to the events of Resident Evil 2, but without adapting the game, or following either of its two iconic protagonists.
The director’s idea, according to what he has shared in promotional material and interviews, is to tell another story within the same Raccoon City disaster, introducing a new character named Bryan as the protagonist. The concept is clear: the Raccoon City outbreak is happening, but this time the camera looks toward another corner of the city, and focuses on another survivor. Up to this point, everything seems to fit, but some elements seen in the teaser have fueled discussion among fans who pay close attention to detail; modern elements such as a smartphone, which would differ from the classic chronology that places Resident Evil 2 in 1998.
Have you seen the trailer? If not, here it is right below:
A Whole New Approach
As he expressed in the media, Zach Cregger does not want to limit his version of Resident Evil to zombies, and wants to focus on how the T-Virus affects the human body to create multiple creatures. This change in focus is now official: “…We will not see a crowd of zombies invading the screen, but we will witness how the dangerous virus from CAPCOM’s saga causes different mutations in people and animals, creating monsters and creatures that go beyond a simple infected person”, Cregger stated, also adding that “when you have the opportunity to show what the T-Virus does to the human body, limiting it to zombies is wasting it”.
Cregger does not wish to build an action story similar to Paul W.S. Anderson’s, nor a feature film similar to the more recent adaptations, but rather to craft a new story apart from the video game characters to show how the outbreak consumes Raccoon City from another perspective, with a somewhat more minimalist approach that seeks to portray “the B side” of the T-Virus explosion. I could almost say with certainty that Cregger’s vision will show things that, for decades, several of us have wondered about: away from the protagonists, how did other people experience the outbreak, perhaps residents of Raccoon City or its surroundings?
The answer will come in just a few months. Do you think you are ready?
So…
Okay, let’s recap: Resident Evil will hit theaters around the world on September 18, 2026. Produced by Sony and directed by Zach Cregger, this movie will show us a different side of the Raccoon City outbreak during the events of RE2, emphasizing the mutations produced by the T-Virus in different beings, humans and animals. Fewer zombies and more creatures, Cregger has established, and seeing what we have seen so far from that cinematic universe, I think we already need to see something new, don’t you think? Leave your answer right here below in the comments! You know gamer, we’ll be reading you! 😉
Images Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment Official YouTube Channel
