Resident Evil 2026 is actually an original story rather than another direct adaptation, and Zach Cregger’s decision to forge his own path might be the smartest move in the franchise’s troubled cinematic history. After seven previous films that variously adapted, ignored, or mangled the source material, Cregger is doing something that sounds obvious but apparently isn’t: he’s making a Resident Evil movie that respects the games without being enslaved by them.
The film takes place during the T-virus outbreak in Raccoon City, the same setting as Resident Evil 2 and 3, but follows Bryan, a medical courier played by Austin Abrams, rather than Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield, or Jill Valentine. Cregger confirmed that while the film “takes place alongside the events of Resident Evil 2,” it’s “an entirely original tale” about “another dude on another mission on the other side of town.”
This approach solves the adaptation problem that has plagued every previous Resident Evil film. The Paul W.S. Anderson series eventually abandoned the games entirely in favor of Alice, an original character who had nothing to do with the source material. The 2021 reboot Welcome to Raccoon City tried to cram the first two games into one movie and pleased nobody. By setting his story in the same world but not competing with beloved characters, Cregger can explore the mythology without the burden of fan expectations.
The director told IGN that he has played “a shit ton of Resident Evil” over the decades and was drawn to how “so naturally cinematic” the games are. But he also recognizes that direct adaptation has limits. “You have the opportunity for the T-virus to do all these fascinating things to the human body and the world around you, so to just limit it to zombies feels like a squandered opportunity,” he said.
The result is a film that features only two or three proper zombie scenes, focusing instead on “weird-creature stuff” that expands the viral horror beyond the familiar undead. The gigantic hairless man in the sewers, the multi-limbed hive-mind creature, and whatever else Cregger has dreamed up represent a creative freedom that previous filmmakers didn’t pursue.
Resident Evil 2026 might finally crack the code by being original within a familiar world.
Experience the original story when Resident Evil 2026 hits theaters September 18.
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