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Resident Evil director Zach Cregger shuts down the Mikey Madison casting rumor as completely made-up

Madison is no stranger to horror, but Weapons director Cregger reveals the rumor she was in talks to be his Resident Evil star was "never" true

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Thu Sep 10 2026

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At this point, we all know who's going to be the lead in Zach Cregger's Resident Evil movie. I mean, we are only a couple days away from its premiere, but long before now, we knew that it was Weapons star Austin Abrams. There was a time, though, that the internet was pretty sure that Oscar-winner Mikey Madison would be leading the picture, and now, director Cregger himself is addressing that rumor.

Or rather, debunking it.

Cregger recently sat down with Deadline to discuss his latest project, the first movie to be under the Resident Evil umbrella (heh) since 2021. During the interview, the outlet asked Cregger directly if there was ever any truth to the idea of Madison, who already went down in horror history as part of the 2022 Scream reboot, was going to lead the film.

"Never," said Cregger, "I don’t know how that started. I love her, she’s great, but that was just never a thing."

The ~~leak~~ clickbait was apparently started by Jordan Ruimy over at World of Reel, who cited "whispers" they trusted in reporting it as fact.

Fans who want to see Madison taking on further frightening fare don't have too long to wait - the Anora actor is appearing in a 2027 adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's The Masque of the Red Death. Still, those of us who've enjoyed her work in Scream - or hell, even her role as a Manson cultist in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood - wouldn't mind seeing Madison take a turn in Raccoon City someday.

Maybe give her a flamethrower, just to even things out.

Resident Evil is in theaters September 18.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.