‘Resident Evil’ Director Zach Cregger Once Wrote a Batman Movie, and It’s Nothing Like What You’d Expect

Horror filmmakers rarely get handed the keys to a franchise as heavily guarded as Batman, and even fewer would think to approach Gotham City through the eyes of someone who has nothing to do with capes or crime lords. Long before Zach Cregger became one of the genre’s most bankable names, he was quietly sketching out exactly that kind of story.

That project never made it to screens, but its existence has resurfaced now that Cregger’s name carries far more weight in Hollywood than it did when he first wrote it. What started as a personal passion project during a low point in his career has become one of the more intriguing “what if” stories in recent memory.

Zach Cregger pitched a horror movie set in Gotham City, ComicBook.com reported, revealing the script centered on a pharmacist caught in the middle of a fight between the Joker and Batman. Rather than following either iconic figure directly, the story approached their conflict entirely from the perspective of an ordinary civilian swept up in something far bigger than himself.

The screenplay, titled ‘Henchman,’ follows an everyday pharmacist who becomes accidentally entangled in the escalating power struggle between Batman and the Joker. Cregger has described the character as someone “living on the periphery of all the stories in Gotham that we know of,” emphasizing that the film was never meant to retell familiar hero-versus-villain beats.

That approach lines up closely with the creative instincts Cregger would later become known for. Both ‘Barbarian’ and his more recent horror hit have leaned into ordinary people caught inside extraordinary, often terrifying circumstances, suggesting ‘Henchman’ was an early blueprint for the filmmaking style that eventually made him a horror standout.

Cregger reportedly wrote the script during his time filming the TBS series ‘Wrecked’ in Fiji, drafting it at night in his bungalow years before ‘Barbarian’ put him on the map. At the time, he lacked any real creative control over a project tied to such a heavily protected piece of intellectual property, a limitation that ultimately pushed him toward writing original stories instead.

That shift away from existing IP directly shaped the path that led to his breakout success. Rather than abandoning the Batman concept entirely, though, Cregger has continued to describe it as one of his favorite pieces of writing, even without a clear path toward production.

Cregger has been candid about the project’s current status, admitting the crowded state of DC’s cinematic plans makes it difficult to find room for his particular vision. “I love the script. I still love that script, but that IP, that Gotham City IP is the most coveted thing,” he told ScreenRant, adding that “my movie, I don’t think it really fits into any of that.”

With Matt Reeves continuing his own Batman universe and James Gunn steering the newly rebuilt DC Studios slate, Cregger noted, “there’s just all this stuff. It is a very kind of crowded playing field.” He’s acknowledged he hasn’t taken the pitch directly to Gunn or DC leadership, and has instead chosen to let the opportunity find its own timing rather than force it, saying “I have no problem with the state of things with DC,” even while understanding the hurdles standing in his way.

Despite the lack of forward momentum, Cregger’s continued willingness to discuss ‘Henchman’ publicly suggests the story still means something to him creatively. Given how differently he’s approached franchise material with ‘Resident Evil,’ finding a peripheral, character-driven angle inside an established universe clearly remains an idea he hasn’t abandoned.

Whether ‘Henchman’ ever gets made likely depends less on Cregger’s interest and more on how DC chooses to shape its increasingly complex slate of Batman and Gotham-set projects going forward. For now, it remains one of the more fascinating unmade scripts sitting in a working filmmaker’s drawer.

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