Barbarian director Zach Cregger's next project as part of his current deal with New Line Cinema is Weapons, which is now in production and is set to hit theaters in early 2026. However, a rumor did the rounds last September that the highly in-demand filmmaker was being courted by Sony Pictures for a new Resident Evil movie.
THR has now confirmed that Cregger is indeed set to write and direct a Resident Evil adaptation - but it may not be for Sony!
According to the trade, an intense bidding war is now underway, with "four studios elbowing for the win, among them Warner Bros. and Netflix."
The last Resident Evil feature was Johannes Roberts' (47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night) Welcome to Racoon City starring Kaya Scodelario (Crawl) as Claire Redfield, Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Jill Valentine, and Robbie Amell (Upload) as Chris Redfield. It was not well-received by fans or critics.
More recently, a live-action Resident Evil series starring the late Lance Reddick (John Wick, The Wire) as Albert Wesker was released on Netflix, and that was met with an even worse reception.
Details on the movie Cregger would direct are non-existent, but last year, a rumor did the rounds that a follow-up to Welcome To Raccoon City was in development. The project was said to be titled Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, and loosely based on the Resident Evil Zero video game.
Here's an excerpt from the Production Weekly report.
"STARS operative Rebecca Chambers and former Marine Billy Coen venture through a train that eventually takes them into a derelict training facility. Once within the facility, they discover they are being stalked by James Marcus, a co-founder of the Umbrella Corporation and creator of the T-Virus, who has managed to resurrect himself with the aid of leech test subjects. After a confrontation, Marcus mutates into a monstrosity, but is subdued by the duo. Chambers and Coen escape as the facility self-destructs."
We haven't had any updates on The Umbrella Chronicles since, so while Cregger's film might well be the same project, it could just as easily be a brand-new concept.
Could we see Cregger helm a comic book movie at some point?
While appearing on Bloody Disgusting's podcast back in 2022, Cregger revealed that he has completed a "Batman- adjacent" script, and would love the opportunity to develop it for the screen.
"The thing I'd love to do next... I've actually written a movie that takes place in the DC Universe. Which is so not normally my thing; I'm not a superhero guy - I just couldn't stop thinking about this one story that kind of takes place in a Batman-adjacent thing. And so I wrote it, and I'm utterly obsessed with it."
Cregger didn't share any specifics on his story, but during a more recent interview with Discussing Film, he described the script as the "best thing I've ever written," and addressed the likelihood of it being brought to the attention of DC Studios now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are in charge.
"If I got the call, I would drop everything and go make that movie in a heartbeat," he said. "It’s my favorite thing I’ve ever written. I love it, and I’m dying to make it. I have not talked to James Gunn in my whole life. I don’t know him but I would certainly love to meet him and have the conversation. Who knows man?"