The Resident Evil franchise is the bad kind of nightmare when it comes to adaptations. The movie series kickstarted by Paul W.S. Anderson back in 2002 found tonnes of success, but it’s hard to suggest it was quality blockbuster filmmaking. Then came an even worse (despite all the reverence for the source material) movie in 2021, that failed to create a new continuity. And let’s not talk about Netflix’s 2022 series… Now, in 2026, we’re waiting to see whether Barbarian and Weapons director Zach Cregger can right this ship.

Alongside Sinners, it’s safe to say Weapons was one of 2025’s biggest and most celebrated horror movies, mixing refreshing thrills, raw horror, unexpected comedy and wild twists in a way we rarely see these days. By all accounts, Cregger should have the sauce to make a very fun Resident Evil movie even if he chooses to completely step away from what’s been done before in movies and video games. (And it sounds like he’s doing exactly that.)

Now, during a chat with Deadline (hat tip to VGC), Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben, who stepped into the role nearly two years ago, elaborated on how the team is approaching this new attempt at ‘cracking the code’ of the enduring horror franchise. First, he doubled down on the idea that it’s “far away from everything that is connected to Resident Evil, only because Zach Cregger has his own style”.

Like horror aficionados who have been keeping track and loving the last few years’ best flicks in the space, Berben is also of the opinion the genre needs voices willing to take a handful of risks with every project. Of course, Cregger’s body of work in the genre so far perfectly embodies that spirit, so it was “a no-brainer” to give him “the carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to do with that IP”.

“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,” Berben added.

The next Resident Evil movie, which doesn’t have an official title yet, was also co-written by Cregger alongside John Wick veteran Shay Hatten. It stars Austin Abrams (who already was a fan-favourite in Weapons), Paul Walter Hauser, Zach Cherry, and Kali Reis, among others. It’s set to be distributed theatrically by Sony Pictures and will invade cinemas on September 18, 2026.