Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil adaptation is currently in theaters, but another smaller adaptation is also arriving this month from a former Walking Dead star.
Chandler Riggs Stars As Ethan Winters in Biohazard Short Film
and here we go. my short film BIOHAZARD hits youtube this wednesday, 10/14. can’t wait for y’all to see it. check out my exclusive interview with @IGN from the link in my bio for all the info.
Chandler Riggs has grown up quite a bit since his long run as Carl on The Walking Dead came to a close, but now the actor is attaching himself to another beloved franchise.
Riggs has been working on a short film called Biohazard that adapts some of the most iconic moments from the open hours of Resident Evil: Biohazard. The short film runs roughly 20 minutes and debuts on YouTube this week.
Riggs plays Ethan Winters in the unofficial short film and will offer Resident Evil fans a closer look at the characters face than they got during the original game, which was almost entirely in the first-person from Ethan’s perspective, aside from a few segments.
According to Riggs the short film was aiming to release before Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil adaptation hit theaters, but things didn’t quite come together in time to hit that goal. Instead, the short film debuts on October 14.
Riggs spoke with IGN about the project and shared details about the process around deciding to show Ethan’s face and how to handle that aspect of the adaptation:
“We’re trying to do so much else super faithful and true to the game, but this is a huge aspect that we are breaking from it. But there isn’t really another good way to tell [the story] in a live-action format. I was going back and forth like ‘Okay, could we do first person the whole time? Could we avoid getting his face in or anything?’ But the more we went back and forth on it, the more I was like, ‘I mean, if we are going to do this and are going to appeal to a wider audience — more than just the people who played the games — then we’re going to have to break those rules. It was very intimidating. Hopefully people are okay with it.”
The teaser trailer is definitely high-quality and it looks like a faithful adaptation with strong acting and a good sense of building suspense. It should be very exciting to watch the whole short film later this week and see how film and gaming fans react to the this take on the franchise.
Be sure to check back soon for lots more Resident Evil and video game movie news and updates.
The Biohazard short film will be available on YouTube starting October 14, 2026.
Resident Evil Veronica is still aiming for a 2027 launch, but new rumors suggest that the game may already have DLC add-on in the works to help fill the game between larger projects in the Resident Evil franchise.
Resident Evil Veronica DLC RUmors
Screenshot: Capcom
Resident Evil Veronica has only revealed its announcement trailer so far and there is still a ton more to learn about the upcoming 2027 remake of Code Veronica. That said, a prominent Resident Evil leaker claims to have knowledge that Capcom is already planning DLC for the upcoming game.
The rumors comes from Dusk Golem who has been a reliable source of information for Resident Evil and other horror games in the past. The account recently mentioned the Code Veronica DLC while discussions Capcom’s larger release plans for the Resident Evil franchise:
“What I’ve said in the past is Resident Evil Requiem’s DLC is aiming for a late 2027 release date… Because this DLC, Veronica Remake, & RE:1 are all in dev at the same time there’s also been an effort to nail down the RE Engine version of the Manor. Due to a lack of spin-off side stories in the pipeline currently, this RE9 DLC & a future Veronica DLC were greenlit earlier this year as a temporary measure to fill in those gaps fans wants & to respond to RE9 feedback.”
A few days later, Dusk Golem returned to the topic and said “I’ve only heard about one story DLC for Requiem & one story DLC for Veronica. Both are being made to be a few hours long up the alley of Separate Ways & Shadow of Rose however.”
This is all unconfirmed by Capcom and, even if the plans are accurate at the moment, they could certainly change in the coming months based on how the base game is received at launch.
Resident Evil: Requiem was one of the biggest hits critically and commercially in 2026, so there are very high expectations heading towards the next major Resident Evil release. Code Veronica is also a fan-favorite moment in the franchise history, so many gamers are eager to see how the remake tackles the story.
Be sure to check back soon for lots more Resident Evil news and updates.
Resident Evil Veronica is expected to launch sometime in 2027 for Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles.
Hideo Kojima has shared his review of Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie. According to the Death Stranding creator, the film captures what it feels like to play Resident Evil, bringing him back to his first experience with the original PlayStation game.
Hideo Kojima Reviews Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil Movie
Screenshot: Capcom
Hideo Kojima has shared his review of Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie in apost on X and has revealed he liked the film. The Metal Gear Solid creator admitted that he wasn’t initially interested in watching Resident Evil. However, director Cregger’s involvement and previous films convinced him to check it out.
Hideo Kojima then compared Resident Evil’s opening background music and intro to The Thing, before describing the movie as a “relentless combination” of classic horror scenarios and jump scares that continues through the ending. However, his biggest takeaway was how well the film captured the experience of actually playing a Resident Evil game.
“I wasn’t particularly interested, but since it’s a new film by director Zach Cregger, I watched the movie Resident Evil. Right from the start, it hits you with BGM in the style of The Thing. It relentlessly piles on classical horror stagings, horror scenarios, and a torrent of jump scares all the way to the end. This isn’t a film adaptation of Resident Evil—it’s a movie about the players who played Resident Evil.” Kojima wrote.
Resident Evil Movie Reminded Kojima of Playing the Original Game in 1996
Screenshot: Capcom
Kojima also revealed that Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie reminded him of playing the original game on PlayStation in 1996. Specifically, watching the film’s protagonist, Bryan, brought back memories of him repeatedly getting game overs and swearing in frustration.
“It reminded me of how I felt when I played the first Bio on PS (1996), kinda like the Bryan in this movie. I kept getting game over and over, spamming ‘F◯◯◯!’ nonstop lol,” he wrote.
Ultimately it appears Hideo Kojima liked the new Resident Evil movie, as he praised Cregger’s ability to capture what it feels like to play the game. Considering that the movie also made Kojima feel nostalgic about his first time playing the Capcom series in 1996, that’s a pretty impressive feat!
The next game in the Resident Evil franchise will be the Resident Evil: Code Veronicaremake, announced on June 5th at the Summer Game Fest. While many details are still under wraps, including a release date more specific than 2027, excited audiences already have some information to mull over while they wait for more.
The name, the story so far, and where gamers can play it
The game is officially titled Resident Evil Veronica, with the “Code” apparently left behind in 2000 with the original game. According to the official website, the new name is meant to preserve the original’s “essence” while introducing new elements, including gameplay and the storyline.
The remake follows Claire Redfield, one of the main protagonists of Resident Evil 2, as she continues searching for her brother, Chris. Her search takes her to France, and instead of anything good, Claire finds the same Umbrella special forces unit that helped spread the virus through Raccoon City. Claire is captured and taken to Rockfort Island, far from an island paradise, it’s the scene of another outbreak, and Claire must fight to survive.
While the story’s details remain mysterious, the official website also explains where the game will be playable. You can wishlist Resident Evil Veronica on PlayStation, Xbox, the Nintendo Switch 2, and Steam.
How the original game fits in with the Resident Evil timeline
Veronica takes place three months after Raccoon City, as the original does. In the Resident Evil timeline, Code Veronica is the sixth game, placing it halfway through the overall mainline run of twelve games.
The franchise’s first game is Resident Evil 0, which follows Rebecca Chambers as she investigates a derailed train before the events at the Spencer mansion. Next comes Resident Evil, where players can control Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield as they explore the Spencer mansion after their teammates are forced to crash-land in the area. Resident Evil 2 introduces Claire alongside rookie cop Leon Kennedy, who come to Raccoon City for different reasons; Claire looks for her brother, while Leon reports for his first day at the Raccoon City Police Department.
Players reunite with Jill in Resident Evil 3, whose events run largely parallel to Resident Evil 2. Jill must escape the infected city while also dealing with her new best friend, Nemesis, who just wants to spend time with her by crushing her like a bug.
Resident Evil: Code Veronica takes place next, just a few months after the Raccoon City incident. Essentially, no one involved can take a breath until after Code Veronica, because the next game, Resident Evil 4, which features a tougher, gruffer Leon, doesn’t happen until six years later. Although considering how ripe the infected must be, not to mention the main characters themselves, maybe taking a deep breath isn’t such a great idea.
Hopefully, more information about the characters, setting, and release date will come soon. For now, Resident Evil fans will have to set their sights on 2027, which is at least just around the corner.
A writer for Capcom has revealed new details about the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem DLC. According to Haris Orkin, the RE9 story expansion will explore Oswell E. Spencer’s story arc in more detail.
Resident Evil Requiem Writer Teases Spencer Story Arc in DLC
Screenshot: Capcom
In a recent YouTube interview, Resident Evil Requiem writer Haris Orkin teased what players can expect from the game’s upcoming DLC. According to the writer, Capcom has a “story arc” for Oswell E. Spencer that the expansion will explore further.
“We have an arc for Spencer in Resident Evil Requiem. They kind of you know understand that more and in the DLC for Requiem, you will understand it even further. So yeah! I probably shouldn’t say that, but yeah.”
Unfortunately, we didn’t get any more details about the Resident Evil Requiem DLC, such as when it might release, as the interviewer quickly moved on to another question. Interestingly, there was recently a rumor about the RE9 story expansion that might line up with what Orkin just revealed.
Resident Evil Requiem DLC Rumored to Revisit Spencer Mansion
Screenshot: Capcom
Leaker Dusk Golem previously claimed that a return to Resident Evil 1’s Spencer Mansion was originally planned for RE9 but was scrapped. However, the insider went on to claim that the location would be repurposed for the upcoming DLC expansion instead.
With Haris Orkin now saying that the Resident Evil Requiem DLC will expand on Spencer’s story arc, the rumor about us returning to Spencer Mansion feels all the more believable. That said, Orkin never specifically mentioned the manor from the original Resident Evil. So this could just be a coincidence.
Orkin’s comments also don’t confirm who we’ll play as, where the expansion will take place, or when it will arrive. All this to say, his involvement as a writer on RE9 makes the tease interesting, but a return to Spencer Mansion remains a rumor.
Screenshot: Capcom
However, with RE9 featuring an entire chapter with Leon Kennedy returning to Raccoon City, the DLC having us revisit Spencer Mansion would also make perfect sense. Only time will tell whether this latest tease points toward another trip to one of the series’ most iconic locations!
Fans of Barbarian and Weapons likely weren’t surprised to find out that Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil film was another smash hit, capturing the feel of the iconic survival horror franchise while offering a brand-new story and protagonist.
Introducing Bryan, his green cooler, and his sheep beanie
Following its September 18 release, Resident Evil has brought in a whopping $245 million at the worldwide box office, blowing its own $75 million budget out of the water. Similar to Cregger’s previous offerings – of his recent films, Barbarian lags behind at a 92% Rotten Tomatoes rating – Resident Evil earned a 96% rating on the Tomatometer, and a 91% rating on the Popcornmeter, proving to delightfully disgust critics and audiences alike.
Starring Austin Abrams as Bryan, a thirty-something courier just trying to make a little extra cash, Resident Evil plunges its audience into a frantic dash through Raccoon City that doesn’t let up until the credits roll. The supporting cast of characters includes an excellent turn from Paul Walter Hauser as an unnamed Umbrella employee, clearly if not understandably out of his depth; Isla McRae as the little girl Bryan stumbles upon as she cowers in an RV, all alone for a pretty good reason; and Cregger himself, credited simply as “the voice on the intercom” that Bryan speaks to when he finally reaches his destination.
The horror and gore is broken up with just the right amount of humor and heart, especially where Bryan himself is concerned. Audiences root for Bryan, just as they root for familiar protagonists like Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield. His goal, apart from making his last delivery of the night, is to make it back to girlfriend Michelle, who has just learned she is pregnant with Bryan’s baby.
Cregger’s excellent movie inspired new players to pick up the game
What sets Cregger’s film apart from the franchise films which came before it is, yes, it takes audiences back to Raccoon City during the middle of an outbreak – the infamous Raccoon City Incident – but it also manages to capture the feeling of playing a Resident Evil game for the first time. Bryan is both a rookie (no pun intended, Leon) player and one of those NPCs whose journal entries and voice memos players find scattered around the city. The film pays homage to the games without being derivative, acting more than anything else as a love letter to the franchise. A love letter likely spattered with gore, true, but loving nonetheless.
In fact, Cregger did such a good job in recreating the feeling of playing a Resident Evil game that the audience wanted more after the 95-minute runtime of the movie. Game sales for the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 remakes have seen an increase across multiple platforms. On Playstation, RE2 – which, like the movie, takes place in Raccoon City – saw a 64% increase in sales, with a smaller 11% boost on Steam. Resident Evil 4 also saw boosted sales, with a 54% increase in sales on PS5, followed by a 14% increase on Steam. And that’s without taking the sales on either platform into consideration, which saw the prices of the games jump down to $9.99 or less.
What was it about Cregger’s movie that gave game sales a boost?
Especially with sales going on at the same time, it might be difficult to ascertain just how Zach Cregger’s film has played a part in Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 seeing an increase in their sales numbers. Still, it’s clear that the movie played a part, and the reason why might be found in the originality of the film.
There are Easter eggs scattered throughout the movie, including two health sprays in the barn where Bryan shelters from an overly non-friendly dog, but for the most part, the only familiar names are Raccoon City and the Umbrella Corporation. Bryan’s story is meant to take place alongside the action of Resident Evil 2, and that comes across loud and clear. It’s a taste of what the games can offer, albeit one that is rich in flavor.
Along with entries in the gaming franchise like this year’s Resident Evil 9: Requiem and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017), both of which feature fresh protagonists, Cregger’s Resident Evil film proves that audiences are capable of embracing what is new, as long as the soul of the franchise remains.
In the sixth and final installment of Paul W.S. Anderson’s original “Resident Evil” film franchise, the writer-director — known for his abrasive, nu-metal vulgar auteurism — raises a middle finger of sorts to his detractors. Over 17 years and thousands of poor reviews, Anderson’s adaptations of the beloved Capcom survival-horror video game series became somewhat famous for pissing off critics and diehard game fans alike. The bulk of Anderson’s sprawling vision chose to forgo the games’ shadowy zombie story for high-octane thrills and compelling (if clunky) commentary on corporate greed, biological warfare, AI and identity. His “Resident Evil” films are unapologetically ambitious and undeniably imperfect, much like their human lead, Alice (Milla Jovovich), whose sole mission is to retain her humanity in a world eating itself alive. In charmingly symbiotic fashion, neither Alice nor Anderson himself is willing to give up on their mission without a fight.
As if Anderson were taking a victory lap to celebrate the impressive feat of making six films in a series that was horribly reviewed but terribly financially successful, a flashback sequence in 2016’s “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” closes the sextet’s loop. In the scene, set just before the events of 2002’s “Resident Evil,” executives at the diabolical Umbrella Corporation gather to discuss the world’s impending end. Nuclear war is a real possibility, climate change is inevitable, famine and death are on the horizon. Umbrella’s answer? The T-Virus, a mutagenic pathogen that will bring an undead plague across the Earth, leaving it free for Umbrella’s higher-ups and other wealthy patrons to inhabit once the zombies are safely eradicated. “We will emerge onto a cleansed Earth,” says Umbrella CEO Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen), “one that we can then reboot in our image.”
(Dušan Martinček/Columbia Pictures) Austin Abrams in “Resident Evil”
Everything has become so hyper-personalized and algorithmic that viewers subconsciously watch media looking for themselves. But that is the great joy of Anderson’s “Resident Evil” films: They are so remarkably stylized, so absurdly over-the-top, so referential and deferent to Anderson’s own inspirations, that they’ve become singular visions.
Here, Anderson’s message is clear: Whoever has the power controls the image. And if one doesn’t like that image, they’re free to fight back. But to know what they’re fighting for, one must first understand what they’re fighting against, engaging with the enemy rather than dismissing it.
That idea has been rattling around my mind after seeing Zach Cregger’s new “Resident Evil,” itself a reboot made in its creator’s image. Cregger’s film is more faithful to the spirit of the original games, with uncertainty and plenty of monsters just around every dark corner. The movie trades the gun-slinging Umbrella defector Alice for a medical courier named Bryan (Austin Abrams), who finds himself completely out of his depth when a routine delivery mutates into something much more horrifying.
“I’d rather watch a movie starring a schlub who’s out of shape and never fired a gun before,” Cregger told Polygon of his adaptation. Unlike Alice, Bryan is the audience stand-in: the average guy who responds to a mind-boggling, impossible situation as clumsily as you or I might. Critics and audiences responded in turn, taking an immediate shine to Bryan’s doofiness and contrasting it with Alice’s purposeful, goal-oriented approach to a zombie apocalypse. One review called Cregger’s movie “different and much better than the other ‘Resident Evil’ movies,” which were termed “depersonalized zombie sludge.”
I find that to be the trouble with the way people watch and talk about films these days, as if a movie’s merit is defined by whether or not it reflects the viewer. Everything has become so hyper-personalized and algorithmic that viewers subconsciously watch media looking for themselves. The line between art and commerce has blurred so much that people unintentionally conflate all visual media with advertising — if they can’t see themselves in it, they’re not buying it.
But that is the great joy of Anderson’s “Resident Evil” films: They are so remarkably stylized, so absurdly over-the-top, so referential and deferent to Anderson’s own inspirations, that they’ve become singular visions. The mere fact that there are six increasingly wacky installments should be enough to warrant curiosity. And yet, Anderson’s “Resident Evil” has always been the butt of the joke, brushed off largely because his movies dared to be different when people wanted more of the same.
Perhaps that’s rich, given just how much DNA the original “Resident Evil” franchise shares with the “Matrix,” “Mad Max,” and “Alien” franchises. And I’m no fool; having seen all of Anderson’s “Resident Evil” films, I know they are not created equal. Some, like the fifth installment, “Retribution” — which reorients the series to a much more salient, focused place — stand head and shoulders above others. But not every “Matrix,” “Alien,” “Mad Max,” or other film franchise movie shares the same quality as its in-universe peers, either. While one might argue that those are original titles of distinguished quality, it’s unfair to write off “Resident Evil” simply because it’s a game adaptation. After all, Anderson’s most fascinating ideas merge the immersive structure of gaming with the spectacle of filmmaking, and he’s one of the few filmmakers who has successfully pulled off such an audacious combination.
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From the start, Alice is the viewer’s avatar, at once a skilled security operative and someone with no memory of their past. She, much like the person behind the proverbial controller, is dropped into a world quickly becoming overrun by a viral plague with no idea what to do. Press A to jump. Press X to shoot. Press Y+X for the combo move. Because we learn alongside Alice — only watching instead of playing — Anderson forges a connection between the viewer and the character on screen without running the analog cable that connects a controller to a console, as Cregger seems keen to do. Anderson’s “Resident Evil” protagonist is not a projection of any specific viewer. Rather, she’s the film’s embodiment of a lawful good, pre-programmed to fulfill her mission linearly without getting lost in the big, open world.
Vulgar auteurism doesn’t necessarily suggest that a film is as “good” as others of its ilk, only that the film earnestly explores ideas as enduring as those in any formally rigid, awards-bait film. Anderson’s “Resident Evil” franchise — with all of its ruminations on identity in the tech age, artificially intelligent warfare, corruption and greed — certainly fits that bill.
Maybe that can feel stifling for some viewers. Across six films, Alice rarely faces a challenge that she can’t overcome. Even the endings feel like save points, with Alice respawning at the start of each consecutive movie with another mutated monkey on her back.
For me, that’s where Anderson’s series gets its draw. Alice is placed in an impossible situation with no say in the matter, and no choice but to fight her way out. As she progresses through the level-by-level (or, in this case, film-by-film) structure, the knowledge she acquires informs her identity and reorients her spirit. Alice’s humanity is defined by her total rejection of the manufactured digital world and the havoc its creators wrought. Her quest is not to defeat all of the monsters, but to always remember that every zombie was, like her, human. That’s how she holds onto her soul.
But no matter how noble Alice’s mission is, her consistent character is no match for Anderson’s heavy hand. His “Resident Evil” films are as gratuitous as they are ridiculous — often repetitive and typically predictable. I’ve never found that to be a barrier to entry, especially for something so balls-to-the-wall exciting as these movies. The merits of so-called vulgar auteurism are often debated among film fans. But to say that no filmmakers are working in mainstream, high-flying, big-budget action with real artistic value negates the principle of filmmaking as an art form. Just because something doesn’t fit into the regressive limitations of “good” and “bad” doesn’t mean that it has no worth. Assertions of vulgar auteurism don’t necessarily suggest that a film is as “good” as others of its ilk, only that the film earnestly explores ideas as enduring as those in any formally rigid, awards-bait film. Anderson’s “Resident Evil” franchise — with all of its ruminations on identity in the tech age, artificially intelligent warfare, corruption and greed — certainly fits that bill.
I find that I’m beating this drum daily, trying to convince people that thoughtfully engaging with art they don’t immediately like or understand is a worthwhile practice. But we’ve reached a moment in media consumption where reputation is practically insurmountable. It’s become more difficult to convince people of “bad” media’s merits, to encourage them to see with eyes other than their own. I stumble into these moments all the time, waxing poetic about misunderstood and misread films like Halle Berry’s “Catwoman,” or claiming Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch” is a bold feminist text and not 110 minutes of CGI-laden misogyny. In all my years of picking apart films to grasp why they appeal to my senses, I’ve watched others’ curiosity decline, especially in the face of someone else’s passion. Now that Cregger’s “Resident Evil” looks and feels a bit more like the classic games, I fear the effusive reaction will drown out Anderson’s franchise’s nutty strengths forever.
Of course, not everything has to be highbrow and meaningful. Some things are silly, and will be just fine remaining that way. But it’s the inclination to bang the gavel and move on that irks me. With AI images bleeding into the real world at a pace none of us can keep up with, there’s human marvel to behold in Anderson’s madness. These are films of strenuous work and daring vision, even when their execution doesn’t always match up with those big ideas. Analyzing what works and what doesn’t, instead of dismissing the whole thing outright, is a free and life-affirming way to connect with the world and its people. Investigating everything further — following Alice down the rabbit hole and fighting alongside her to preserve what makes us human — might be laborious at times, sure. But it just might be one of the last ways to save our souls.
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