A teaser trailer has just been released for Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie. The man behind Barbarian and Weapons also discussed said trailer with IGN and has shared some details on what to expect.
We just got our first look at the new Resident Evil movie. Directed by Zach Cregger of Barbarian and Weapons fame, it will debut in theaters on September 18, 2026, and is an original story rather than a one-to-one adaptation of the games. The movie follows a medical courier named Bryan (Austin Abrams) who has no choice but to fight for survival as horrifying creatures chase him through the night.
Director Zach Cregger dissected the new teaser trailer for IGN and gave some insight on what to expect: “My rule for this movie was to try and make something that felt like my experience of playing the games, that could live in the world of Resident Evil. I feel like this movie takes place alongside the events of Resident Evil 2. Everything that’s going on in the police station could be happening in this world.”
While it does not use the characters we know, Cregger still wanted his movie to be at the very least canon in its setting. He also wanted this adaptation to feel like the games structure-wise. Resident Evil is about slow escalation in mechanics and set pieces, and Cregger thought re-creating this aspect felt right: “What I love about the games is that every set piece brings with it unique new horrors, and so I wanted the rhythm to feel like it was always shifting. You are always facing increasingly bigger dangers, and you have to be aware of resource management and health, and things like that… It’s a love letter to the games which I fully, obsessively love.”
He thought that the games’ focus on bioterrorism represented an opportunity for creativity, and as a result, the movie only contains a few scenes featuring zombies. Instead, the spotlight is on never before-seen creatures: “I wouldn’t call it a zombie movie necessarily. I feel like you have this opportunity for the T-virus to do all these fascinating things to the human body and the world around you, so just limiting it to zombies feels like a squandered opportunity in my opinion.”
According to a 2025 interview with Deadline, Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben has given Zach Cregger “carte blanche” to do what he wants for this Resident Evil movie adaptation. He explained this is not just about creating new story ideas, but about “allowing a new generation to take the IP into their own hands and form something different.”