Resident Evil movie confirms lead as Zach Cregger reunites with Weapons star
No, it's not Josh Brolin.
Between Barbarian, Companion and now, Weapons, Zach Cregger is on a bit of a horror hot streak.
Now, the director is moving on to his upcoming adaptation of the Resident Evil video game series.
And while much of the cast is still unknown, Cregger has confirmed that one of his stars from recent hit Weapons is set to take on the lead role.
In an interview with Ringer Movies, Cregger revealed that Austin Abrams will star in the adaptation.
As well as his recent role in Weapons, you might recognise Austin Abrams from Euphoria, The Walking Dead, Dash & Lily, Wolfs, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
"Austin Abrams is gonna be my guy," Cregger explained in the aforementioned interview.
"Austin is the movie. We have an amazing thing together. It's a weird, fun, wild story."
Abrams will play an original character, with Creggers having previously revealed to Inverse that the film will occur "outside of the characters of the games," adding that: "Leon's story is told in the games. Fans already have that."
While Cregger has been praised for his unique and perhaps more cerebral horror films, he insists that Resident Evil will be different.
"It's gonna be not at all like Barbarian and Weapons. It's going to be a rock 'em, sock 'em [film].
"It's for me to play and turn my brain off and just get crazy with the camera," he described.
Keen to avoid the mistakes of previous adaptations, such as 2021's poorly received Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, a report from The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year claimed that Cregger's take will "be more faithful" to the games' roots.
In his Ringer Movies interview, he expands on this, revealing that while he has never seen any of the existing six Resident Evil films, he used to "obsessively" play the games.
"[The film]'s not reinventing itself. This movie follows a person from point A to point B. It's weird in that way, because it's a real-time foot journey where you just go deeper and deeper into the depths of Hell.
"And it's really a love letter to the games, because I love those games. This is my homage to them."
Between Cregger's film and the upcoming Resident Evil 9, 2026 is shaping up to be a big year for Resident Evil fans.
Zach Cregger's untitled Resident Evil film is scheduled to release in 2026.
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