{
  "id": 8278227,
  "title": "How ‘Resident Evil’ Director Zach Cregger Leveled Up",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/how-resident-evil-director-zach-cregger-leveled-up",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-18T17:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TheWrap",
    "slug": "thewrap",
    "url": "https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/resident-evil-zach-cregger-interview-the-flood-gladys/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A year after the release of the sleeper hit \"Barbarian,\" Zach Cregger, a comedian-turned-filmmaker, unveiled \"Weapons,\" an elliptical and dread-soaked story about an elementary school class disappearing on a specific night at 2:17 a.m. The film, indebted to John Carpenter and Paul Thomas Anderson, achieved significant success ($270 million worldwide) and won Amy Madigan an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Now, Cregger is back with \"Resident Evil,\" an original tale set within the world of the popular Capcom video game franchise.\n\n\"Resident Evil\" sparked a bidding war, ultimately landing with Sony Pictures for a theater release. The film follows Bryan (played by Austin Abrams), a medical courier tasked with delivering an important package during a zombie and monster outbreak. Unlike previous film adaptations, \"Resident Evil\" doesn't rely on established video game characters and instead creates an original story within the game's universe.\n\nCregger's journey to \"Resident Evil\" began with \"Weapons,\" which he wrote in response to a personal tragedy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the production of \"Weapons\" was paused, leading Cregger to channel his creative energy into writing \"Resident Evil\" and another sci-fi script, which will be produced by Steven Spielberg and Amblin. Despite the film's success, Cregger admitted to feeling underwhelmed when attending a screening in Prague, as the audience was notably absent.\n\nThe decision to work with Austin Abrams for \"Resident Evil\" came naturally, given their previous collaboration on \"Weapons.\" Cregger praised Abrams' acting range and kindness, stating that he was the first choice for the role. As for overcoming fan backlash against the film's non-canonical approach, Cregger acknowledged that some fans may not be pleased with the lack of established characters and scenarios from the \"Resident Evil\" game series. However, he emphasized that the film aims to capture the survival horror experience of playing the games.",
  "summary": "The latest adaptation of the video game series is the kind of bold reimagining you’d expect from the filmmaker behind “Weapons” and “Barbarian” The post How ‘Resident Evil’ Director Zach Cregger Leveled Up appeared first on TheWrap .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}