Zach Cregger Just Revealed His ‘Resident Evil’ Zombies Are Unlike Anything We’ve Seen in the Games & We Love it

Horror fans have spent the better part of a year buzzing about Zach Cregger’s take on ‘Resident Evil,’ and each new detail seems to raise the stakes even higher. After breaking through with ‘Barbarian’ and then striking awards gold with ‘Weapons,’ Cregger has become one of the genre’s most trusted names, which makes his pivot into adapting one of gaming’s most beloved horror franchises feel like a genuine event.

Much of the conversation around the film has centered on how faithful it will actually be to its source material. Cregger has been open about the fact that his story exists outside the established games rather than retelling any specific plotline, choosing instead to follow his own original narrative set within that same infected world.

That balance between honoring the games and carving out something new extended into a discussion about the film’s creatures themselves. Speaking during Collider’s Directors on Directing panel at San Diego Comic Con, Cregger explained that his version of the infected still follows the internal logic fans know from the games, while also introducing elements that have never appeared in that universe before.

That approach lines up with comments Cregger has made elsewhere about wanting to expand what the T virus is capable of on screen. He has previously said that limiting the film to traditional zombies would squander the opportunity the virus presents, since it can be used to create far stranger transformations of the human body and its surroundings.

According to Cregger, his film actually leans away from being a straightforward zombie movie in the way audiences might expect. He has noted that there are really only two or three scenes involving traditional zombie encounters, with the rest of the film instead focused on stranger, more mutated threats born from the same viral outbreak.

The film follows Bryan, played by Austin Abrams, a medical courier who finds himself caught in the middle of a horrifying outbreak over the course of one chaotic night. Cregger has described the film as an entirely original story that simply happens to take place within the Resident Evil world, rather than a retelling of any specific game.

During the same Comic Con weekend, Cregger also addressed some pushback from fans over changes to the story’s setting. He confirmed the film takes place in the present day rather than the 1990s era associated with ‘Resident Evil 2’, explaining that shifting the timeline allowed him to tell the story he wanted while giving Bryan’s character an iPhone rather than sticking strictly to the original game’s period setting.

Cregger has been candid that he approached the project as someone deeply devoted to the games rather than the previous film adaptations, admitting he has never actually seen any of the earlier ‘Resident Evil’ movies. That gaming-heavy perspective seems to be shaping much of his creative direction, especially when it comes to prioritizing tension and dread over straightforward action.

He has also spoken about wanting to replicate the specific rhythm of the games, describing the film as one continuous gauntlet that pushes its protagonist from one harrowing set piece to the next. That structure, combined with his promise of new creature designs beyond the classic zombie, suggests fans should expect plenty of surprises even within a story built on such familiar lore.

With the film’s cast also including Kali Reis, Zach Cherry, and Paul Walter Hauser, anticipation continues building ahead of its theatrical release. Whether audiences embrace Cregger’s blend of faithful lore and original storytelling will likely become one of this fall’s biggest horror conversations.

‘Resident Evil’ arrives in theaters on September 18.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!