When any new Resident Evil project is on the horizon, fans of the franchise always have the same question in mind: Will it feature any legacy characters like Leon S. Kennedy or Claire Redfield? This exact scenario happened prior to the release of Resident Evil Requiem. Grace Ashcroft was initially revealed as the main character of Capcom's video game, and even then, multiple rumors about Leon having a major role in the title circulated online. Audiences know and love these iconic survivors, which is why they want to see more of them. However, the upcoming Resident Evil movie has taken a very different route.
It might be shocking to learn that the first live-action Resident Evil film in five years won't feature any of the game's characters in the lead role and will instead opt to follow the story of a completely original protagonist named Bryan (Austin Abrams). However, during an interview with IGN, director Zach Cregger (Weapons) explained the reasoning behind this creative decision (which, quite frankly, has a lot of weight behind it):
"I am not trying to adapt a video game. I'm not using the characters from the games. I'm not telling a story that the games tell because I'm not going to be able to do it better than the games. The games are so well executed and, to me, Leon and Claire and these characters, they exist so perfectly in the games that anyone I cast and any difference that I do with them would be probably to the detriment of what I was trying to do. It's kind of like when you have your favorite book, and you find someone's turning your favorite book into a movie, and then you hear who they cast, and you're always like, 'That's not what I want.' I'm not trying to do that."
Video games are very tricky to adapt to the big screen because directors can't challenge audiences to solve a puzzle for themselves so that the main character can advance to the next room. Additionally, movies simply can't have a runtime of around 11 hours (which would be as long as the main campaign of Resident Evil Requiem). There's no interactivity, and runtimes are very short which, from the get-go, takes away from what makes video games so special.
TV shows like The Last of Us and Fallout have found great levels of success adapting their source material because they had around eight hours total across multiple episodes to tell a single, cohesive story and build their characters up. Films, on the other hand, don't have this luxury.
Projects like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Gran Turismo work well because the video games they are based on don't have a big focus on narrative in the first place. However, Resident Evil is very different, which is why most of its live-action adaptations to date haven't held up to the franchise's overall standard. As such, Cregger's approach to his upcoming film could be exactly what is needed to craft a standout cinematic experience that just so happens to take place at the same time as one of the Resident Evil video games.
Cregger also revealed what he set out to accomplish with his upcoming film, and what he hopes fans take away from the experience: "What I'm trying to do is make a Resident Evil movie that, really, is a love letter to the experience of playing a Resident Evil game (...) To me, what that means is that it plays by the rules of Resident Evil. It's in Raccoon City (...) it's the T-virus, the Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City, all those things are necessary. They are in there. But the most important thing I'm trying to do is make a movie that feels like it's unraveling the way that, when you play the game, it's unfolding."
The upcoming Resident Evil movie will not only take cues from the games, but will also unfold simultaneously with the events of Resident Evil 2, as revealed by Cregger during a previous interview with IGN (although he has noted that he took some creative liberties to make his story better for the big screen):
"I feel like this movie takes place alongside the events of Resident Evil 2. I like to think that everything that’s going on in the police station could be happening in this world. This is just another dude on another mission on the other side of town."
Fortunately, it won't be long before we finally see Resident Evil for ourselves and discover whether this new approach is exactly what was needed to create an acclaimed live-action project set in Capcom's beloved franchise.
Resident Evil will be released on September 18, 2026.
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