Zach Cregger will follow up his global hit Weapons with Resident Evil, a decidedly fresh take on the long-running franchise.
Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben tells Deadline that the new film is “far away from everything that is connected to Resident Evil, only because Zach Cregger has his own style.”
When it came to entrusting Resident Evil with a new voice, Berben admits it was a no-brainer to give Cregger “carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to do with that IP.”
He adds, “With Resident Evil, we have had an incredible journey with one of the most successful international IPs of more than a billion dollars in box office for many years, and now we are creating something new — not just a new story idea, but to allow a new generation to take the IP into their own hands and form something different.”
These statements echo previous comments made by Cregger, who remarked, “I consider Resident Evil an original thing, and I think you will too when you see it.”
The filmmaker also stated, “I’m definitely not trying to be completely obedient to the lore of the games. I’m trying to tell a story that just feels authentic to the experience you get when you play the games.”
Directed by Cregger from a script he co-wrote with Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapters 3 and 4), Resident Evil opens in theaters on September 18 via Sony.
Austin Abrams (Weapons), Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird”), Zach Cherry (“Severance”), Kali Reis (“True Detective: Night Country”), and Johnno Wilson (“Twisted Metal”) star.
Constantin Film’s Robert Kulzer, Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Miri Yoon, and PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan are producing.
Berben serves as executive producer alongside Davis Films’ Victor Hadida, with TriStar Pictures’ president Nicole Brown overseeing the project for Sony.