Zach Cregger, director of the acclaimed horror film Barbarian and a member of the comedy troupe The Whitest Kids You Know, is set to helm a Resident Evil reboot. The Hollywood Reporter reports a fierce bidding war is underway for distribution rights, with Netflix and Warner Bros. among the four studios vying for the project. Cregger will write and direct this new take on the iconic Capcom survival horror franchise.
Cregger's 2022 film, Barbarian, garnered significant praise for its unsettling premise of a woman discovering a horrifying secret within her rental house. He's already completed his next film, Weapons, which reportedly has tested exceptionally well with audiences. [Read our Barbarian review here.]
This will mark the second attempt at rebooting the Resident Evil franchise for the big screen. Paul W.S. Anderson's six-film series, starring Milla Jovovich, achieved considerable box office success, grossing $1.2 billion worldwide, despite its deviations from the game's storyline. The 2021 reboot, Welcome to Raccoon City, directed by Johannes Roberts, aimed for greater faithfulness to the games but ultimately fell short of replicating their quality.
Similar to the Anderson films and Welcome to Raccoon City, Constantin Film will produce the upcoming reboot in collaboration with PlayStation Productions. Established in 2019, PlayStation Productions actively adapts Sony's game properties for film and television, with past successes including Uncharted (starring Tom Holland), Gran Turismo, the The Last of Us TV series, and Twisted Metal.
Future PlayStation Productions projects include adaptations of Until Dawn, Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima, Gravity Rush, Helldivers, Horizon Zero Dawn, and an Uncharted sequel. A God of War TV series and a recently announced Ghost of Tsushima anime series are also in development.
