Director Zach Cregger Getty Image Zach Cregger, fresh off of the success of Weapons, unveiled a first look at his Resident Evil reboot during Sony’s CinemaCon presentation on Monday.
The filmmaker took the stage solo as he debuted the film’s trailer to the Las Vegas crowd. The feature hits theaters Sept. 18, 2026, and adapts the popular Capcom video game series about an elite task force battling zombies. Cregger told the crowd that “over the last couple of decades, I have played a shit ton of Resident Evil” and that he was drawn to how the games are “so naturally cinematic.”
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He noted how he wanted his version to particularly reflect the pacing — no time jumps like his past projects — and atmosphere of the games, and promised, “If you love the games, you will feel their influence everywhere in the movie.”
Cregger then threw to the trailer, which began with star Austin Abrams having some car trouble and knocking on a spooky cabin with a plea to use a phone. As he seemingly speaks to a romantic partner over the phone, he shakily reveals “I’m in a seriously fucked up situation right now and it looks like there’s a chance we may not get to talk to each other again,” as he declares his love. His call is laid over a number of horrific images, with bodies being dragged along the ground, limbs creeping around doorframes and blood dropping from the sky onto lines of cars, as Abrams runs for his life.
This is the third go-around for the Resident Evil franchise, following six films helmed by Paul W. S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich, for a movie series that surpassed $1.2 billion at the global box office. An initial reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, was released in 2021 to poor results, and now Cregger is taking his own stab at the adaptation as both director and co-writer, alongside Shay Hatten.
Abrams — who worked with Cregger on Weapons and is known for his roles in Euphoria and Wolfs — stars in the new movie, with the filmmaker previously having told THR, “I cast [Abrams] in Resident Evil because he’s so well-suited for this part. We just had a completely amazing experience together [on Weapons], and we really connected, creatively. So when it was time to get this one going, I didn’t have to think too hard.” Paul Walter Hauser, Severance breakout Zach Cherry, True Detective co-star Kali Reis and I Love That for You‘s Johnno Wilson round out the rest of the cast.
The all-new story follows Bryan (Abrams), a medical courier who unwittingly finds himself in a race for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in chaos.
CinemaCon, the annual gathering of cinema owners and Hollywood studios, is hosted in Las Vegas by Cinema United, formerly known as the National Association of Theatre Owners. This year’s edition runs April 13-16.
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