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As a Resident Evil fan, there are very few things we can complain about. Capcom has been hard at working delivering (largely) outstanding remakes of the original games. Leon S. Kennedy said his, "Where's everyone going, bingo?" line in the Resident Evil 4 remake. And now, one of the brightest voices in horror filmmaking today, Zach Cregger, is making a Resident Evil movie. Let's now hold a minute of silence for the Silent Hill fan community, who are no doubt weeping in the distance. 

In case you're not familiar with who Cregger is, he's the writer and director of 2023's Barbarian. If you haven't watched Barbarian, I strongly advise you to watch it right now, and don't read anything about it before doing so. You're in for a treat. It's because of his work on Barbarian that Cregger was tapped to helm the upcoming Resident Evil reboot onscreen, which he has co-written with Shay Hatten, the writer of the past two John Wick films (absolute bangers in their own right). While details have been scant, The Hollywood Reporter has emphasized that Cregger's adaptation will be faithful to the games. 

Now, Deadline has reported that Sony Pictures has joined on for Cregger's Resident Evil reboot, and will be releasing the film on September 18, 2026. If you've spent way too much of your adult life thinking about Resident Evil like me, you'd remember that Sony Pictures' division, Screen Gems, made the original Resident Evil films - the ones with Milla Jovovich that have next to nothing in common with the games, yeah. Screen Gems also made 2021's Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City movie with Avan Jogia and Kaya Scodelario.

Why is that important? It is because this time, Sony is leading with a different team for Resident Evil 2026. The production will be overseen by an executive from Columbia Pictures (that's the biggest division on Sony's lot, the one that made the Raimi Spider-Man trilogy and most of the Daniel Craig Bond movies), and it's produced in part by PlayStation Productions, a subsidiary within Sony that focuses on making adaptations of PlayStation games. PlayStation Productions was one of the production companies behind HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us - which several critics lauded as the first 'great' video game adaptation. That's immensely promising. 

PlayStation Productions is intended to foster brand synergy between Sony's various subsidiaries, elevating games from Sony Interactive Entertainment's library. The core of Resident Evil's fandom has always been gamers because the quality difference between Capcom's games and Hollywood's attempts at adapting them for the screen is massive. You fall in love with Resident Evil because of the uniquely stressful experience of playing the games, rather than watching the films that are mediocre at best. 

Getting a talented writer-director like Zach Cregger onboard for a reboot film with a fall 2026 release date signals to us Res Heads that the franchise is finally being taken seriously from a storytelling standpoint. The Resident Evil games have made enough of an impact on horror fans in this millennium that it shouldn't just be anyone making a loose adaptation of it - they demand a concerted look. Fans won't flock to theaters just because they see 'Resident Evil' on the marquee. They want to see something that respects the Resident Evil that they know. Let's just hope that Cregger's Resident Evil film can follow in the footsteps of The Last of Us.

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