By A new Resident Evil film is currently in development, and reports suggest that a bidding rivalry is taking place among four major studios to secure it. This excitement arises from the fact that the forthcoming Resident Evil reboot has associated Barbarian director Zach Cregger for writing and directing duties.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cregger’s take on Resident Evil is characterized as “a reimagining that will return the franchise to its horror origins and remain true to the original games.” This would be a welcome change from the previous Resident Evil films. The most recent adaptation, 2021’s Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City, attempted to combine the first two games into one film but performed poorly at the box office. The six Resident Evil movies released prior predominantly centered on Milla Jovovich’s character Alice, who was created specifically for the films. So far, there has not been a live-action Resident Evil film that genuinely captured the essence of the games.
Sony’s Screen Gems distributed all of the previous Resident Evil movies, but the rights to this new project are up for acquisition due to Cregger’s rising box office success. Barbarian received critical acclaim and became a cult favorite, while his second horror film, Weapons, is reported to have very high test screening ratings, although it has not yet been released to the public.
Only two of the four studios—Warner Bros. and Netflix—have been explicitly named in reports. Netflix previously launched a live-action Resident Evil series featuring Lance Reddick, as well as streaming various animated Resident Evil films. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. may have the advantage, as it secured the rights to Weapons during a previous bidding war for Cregger’s services.
Paul W.S. Anderson, the director of the first six Resident Evil films, was recently at