Sony has released a new Resident Evil featurette featuring writer-director Zach Cregger, who explains the approach behind his reboot and makes it clear this version is aiming for survival horror first.
Zach Cregger says Resident Evil is the flagship of survival horror
In the featurette, Cregger calls Resident Evil “the flagship” of survival horror and says the movie is not about action. Instead, he points to the same sense of fear and tension that made the games stand out in the first place.
Cregger says what he loves most about Resident Evil and survival horror games is the overwhelming feeling of dread, where a character has no choice but to move forward even when they know something horrible is waiting for them.
He describes it like having to go down a long dark passageway with only two shotgun shells and knowing there is a lot of bad waiting ahead.
The new Resident Evil movie is about an ordinary guy trying to survive
Cregger also explains he came up with a story set in the Resident Evil universe that is closer to what would happen if someone like him got dropped into one of the games.
He jokes that he is terrible with guns, would not know how they work, and would miss nearly all of his shots.
That sounds in line with what Sony already revealed about Austin Abrams’ character Bryan, a medical courier who gets caught in one horrifying night of chaos. Instead of making Bryan look like a trained action hero, Cregger appears to be leaning into panic, fear, and survival.
Zach Cregger says he wants to stay loyal to the games in spirit and tone
Cregger says the movie is his chance to be loyal to the games in spirit and tone while building a story that keeps throwing the audience back into that terrifying scenario again and again with higher stakes each time.
That may be the biggest takeaway from the featurette. Sony is not selling this Resident Evil as a big action spectacle. Cregger is framing it as a true horror movie built around dread, limited options, and the feeling that things keep getting worse.
Resident Evil release date
Resident Evil stars Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser. The movie is directed by Zach Cregger, written by Cregger and Shay Hatten, and hits theaters on September 18, 2026.
Watch the featurette:
