Will Zach Cregger's Resident Evil Movie Be Set In The Game Universe? Here's How They're Connected

As of this writing, there have been seven live-action feature films based on Capcom's popular series of zombie-based video games. The "Resident Evil" films released from 2002 to 2016 were all part of the same (bugnuts crazy) continuity, following the state of the world after the release of a deadly mutagenic virus that can turn people into zombies, Hulk-like mutants, or vampires (?). The film series was rebooted in 2021 with the release of Johannes Roberts' "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City," a film that attempted to re-insert horror elements into a film series that had gone off the rails. All the while, Capcom kept releasing "Resident Evil" video games. From 2002 to 2021, 20 games (including multiple spin-offs) were released for various platforms. And that's not even including the near-forgotten 2022 "Resident Evil" TV series that ran on Netflix for one season. 

In 2026, the film series will see a reboot again, this time from "Barbarian" and "Weapons" director Zach Cregger. As of this writing, the intended release date is September 18. Austin Abrams is set to star, and will also feature Paul Walter Hauser. There isn't yet a proper title, but it will be a fresh start; Cregger's film will not share a continuity with the pre-2016 films, nor with "Welcome to Raccoon City." Cregger is also penning the script, as he only wanted to direct "Resident Evil" if he was also permitted to write it. In a recent interview with Polygon, Cregger assured fans that he will be making his "Resident Evil" movie more closely resemble the games than the previous movies. He will be modeling the story from the games "Resident Evil 2" through "Resident Evil 4." 

In an even more recent interview with Fangoria Magazine (conducted by /Film's own Ryan Scott), Cregger elucidated even further, saying that his film won't just borrow story elements from the Capcom games, but will actually be in the same continuity as them. It's going to be a massive, cross-media storytelling experiment this time. 

The games that Cregger refers to star the characters Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, two put-upon souls who fight a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City. Those characters are well-known among "Resident Evil" fans, and have loomed large in multiple games (Claire especially). It seems that Cregger is very fond of the "Resident Evil 2" game, but he didn't just want to do a straight adaptation of it. He has ideas of his own. Ryan Scott asked Cregger, quite pointedly, if his new movie would be a separate adventure that takes place simultaneously within the universe of the games. Cregger confirmed it will be indeed, saying, "Bullseye. Yeah." He continued: 

"I'm not telling Leon's story. You know what I mean? I'm not using any of the characters from the games. I'm telling my story that exists in the world of 'Resident Evil 2.' You could play '2' and never know that the events of my story are happening right over there, but they are. I'm following the rules, but I'm not claiming any key, canon characters because we have those in the games."

Ryan Scott, just for the utmost clarity, asked if the canon of the "Resident Evil" games is the same as the movie, and he said that it was. It's as clear as day.

Although few have been loved by critics, to date, the "Resident Evil" movies have mostly been financially successful. The extant seven movies have earned a collective $1.28 billion at the box office, only costing a collective $313 million to make. Cregger, whose "Weapons" was a critical darling and a giant success at the 2025 box office, may have the clout and the talent to finally turn the "Resident Evil" film series into something that critics love as much as audiences. Time will tell.