Zach Cregger Reveals the Unexpected Christmas Classics That Shaped His ‘Resident Evil’ Reboot

Zach Cregger has built a reputation over the past few years as one of horror’s most exciting rising voices, following the massive success of ‘Barbarian’ and the bidding war that landed his follow-up script, ‘Weapons,’ at Warner Bros. That track record made him an intriguing choice when Sony tapped him to take on one of gaming’s most beloved horror franchises.

Adapting ‘Resident Evil’ for the screen comes with its own unique challenges, given the franchise’s decades of established lore and a fanbase that knows the source material intimately. Cregger has been vocal about wanting to honor that history while still carving out something distinct within the world of the games.

That approach extended all the way down to how Cregger and lead actor Austin Abrams shaped the film’s central character during production. Despite the movie’s snowy setting, it turns out two beloved holiday classics played a surprisingly central role in guiding the tone of Bryan, the film’s protagonist, alongside one other 1980s favorite.

Cregger revealed that he and Abrams frequently referenced ‘Die Hard,’ ‘Back to the Future,’ and ‘Home Alone’ while filming, using the three films’ protagonists as shorthand for how Bryan should react in any given scene. “We would huddle up, and it’d be a scene; [Austin Abrams] would be like, ‘Do you think I’m more like McLean [Die Hard] or McFly [Back to the Future] here?’ It’s like, you’re McFly here,” Cregger recalled in an interview with MovieWeb.

According to Cregger, Bryan spends most of the film in a state closer to Marty McFly’s confused, reactive energy than any kind of confident action hero. “Most of the movie you’re McFly. You’re just kind of like, I don’t know, I don’t know what to do,” Cregger explained, describing that uncertainty as the character’s default state throughout much of the story.

Every so often, though, Bryan gets a chance to pull off something genuinely heroic, channeling a bit of John McClane’s resourcefulness from ‘Die Hard.’ And in the film’s more chaotic or panicked moments, Cregger said the character slips into something closer to Kevin McCallister’s frantic energy from ‘Home Alone,’ completing the trio of references the pair leaned on throughout the shoot.

‘Resident Evil’ follows Bryan, a medical courier tasked with delivering a package to a general hospital in Raccoon City, only to find himself caught in the middle of a deadly outbreak and total chaos. Bryan isn’t a trained fighter, and he’s forced to fend off monstrous attackers using whatever he can find around him, leaning into that scrappy, improvisational energy Cregger and Abrams built the character around.

The film stars Austin Abrams, who previously worked with Cregger on ‘Weapons,’ in the leading role, with Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser rounding out the supporting cast. Cregger co-wrote the screenplay alongside Shay Hatten, with Constantin Film producing and co-financing the project alongside Vertigo Entertainment and PlayStation Productions.

The first trailer for Zach Cregger's ‘RESIDENT EVIL’ has been released.

In theaters on September 18. pic.twitter.com/eeVCAGzy6M

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 30, 2026

Cregger also opened up about how quickly he knew Abrams was right for the role, revealing the decision came together while the two were still working on ‘Weapons.’ “I’d written this before I shot Weapons, and while we were shooting Weapons, I kind of knew I was like, this dude, like we just had such a good thing on that movie,” Cregger said, adding that casting Abrams felt like “a done deal” well before production on ‘Resident Evil’ officially began.

That collaborative shorthand between director and star appears to have carried directly into how they approached shaping Bryan’s arc throughout the film, using those familiar cinematic touchstones as a shared language on set. Given how beloved all three reference films remain decades later, it’s an approach that seems likely to resonate with audiences familiar with those classics.

Beyond the character work, Cregger has been consistent in describing his approach to ‘Resident Evil’ as a love letter to the games rather than a retelling of any existing character’s story. He’s been clear that the film exists outside the narratives fans already know from the franchise, choosing instead to tell an original story that still respects the established rules of the games’ universe.

With such a distinctive blend of horror instincts and unexpected genre influences shaping the project, ‘Resident Evil’ looks positioned to bring something fresh to a franchise fans have followed for decades.

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