The Resident Evil franchise is no stranger to the silver screen. Resident Evil (2002) was a powerhouse in the early 2000s zombie movie scene, spawning 5 sequels. The series already attempted a movie reboot with Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2022), but the sequels to that reboot were canceled in favor of a new direction for the franchise.

After the success of Barbarian (2022) and Weapons (2025), Zach Cregger has become a horror darling, and his take on Resident Evil promises twists, turns, and of course, the zombie horror fans have come to expect from the franchise. The recently released teaser trailer shows protagonist Bryan (played by Austin Abrams) as he attempts to survive as zombies lurk in the shadows. The teaser trailer shows that Cregger plans to follow a new hero and tell a story separate from the games while still honoring the stories that have come before.

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil (2026) Teaser Trailer Isolates Its Hero

The teaser trailer for Resident Evil (2026) opens with the main character, Bryan, knocking on the door of a farm house, claiming that he has had car trouble. The tension immediately ramps up when Bryan enters the empty home. He attempts to call 911 but is unable to get through, a major signal to the audience that something is truly wrong. Then, he calls his girlfriend, leaving a message that he does not think he will survive.

In the two minute trailer, the actual zombies do not appear until after the first minute. Cregger instead shows Bryan running from an unseen threat, and then a corpse being dragged offscreen by a monster in the shadows. The second half of the trailer shows increasing horrors, including Bryan running through a city as corpses fall onto cars, seemingly from the sky. This ramping up of tension and heightening of stakes throughout the trailer shows the creeping dread of the Resident Evil games while also promising more surprises to come.

Zach Cregger Promises to Stay True to Resident Evil’s Heart While Following His Own Story

Image via Sony Pictures Entertainment

The teaser trailer’s focus on Bryan’s story reflects Cregger’s direction for the film and his celebration of what he loves most about the franchise. In an interview with Playstation.blog, Cregger states that the survival horror aspect of the Resident Evil games has always drawn him in more, and he wanted to replicate the added stress of resource management and progression throughout the film. He specifies that his story takes place within the world of Resident Evil 2, Cregger’s introduction to the franchise. Still, despite easter eggs, the film will follow its own path and its own hero, not Leon S. Kennedy. Cregger states:

To me, I would feel like there’s kind of no winning there if I were to tell Leon’s story, because the games do such a great job. It would just be kind of redundant, and ultimately, I think, disappointing.

Instead, Resident Evil (2026) follows Bryan, who is meant to be an audience surrogate, reacting like a normal person would to the horrors of the Resident Evil world.

Cregger’s oeuvre of Barbarian and Weapons shows his strong character focus as he weaves interconnected stories. Thus far, Resident Evil (2026) is meant to follow a single character throughout the story, serving as a departure from Cregger’s earlier films from multiple viewpoints. Still, Cregger’s earlier works mean that fans can expect many twists and turns as Bryan navigates the increasingly chaotic world in the wake of the Umbrella Corporation’s experiments and the outbreak of the T-Virus.

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil (2026) will premiere in theaters on September 18, 2026.

Release Date

September 18, 2026

Director

Zach Cregger

Writers

Shay Hatten, Zach Cregger