Here we go again. Another live-action Resident Evil movie, another director stepping up to the mic to say, “Don’t worry, I totally love the games,” right before hurling a flaming typewriter full of retcons at the fandom.
In the latest issue of SFX Magazine, Barbarian director Zach Cregger told fans he gets Resident Evil and reassures that he’s the right guy to handle the upcoming film franchise reboot because he has played the games. However, Cregger has also already expressed his desire to take some creative liberties ahead of any official plot or casting announcements. Just what every fandom wants to hear.
Cregger stated he doesn’t plan to be “completely obedient to the lore of the games”, which basically means Claire Redfield will end up as an annoying podcaster with ADHD and a furious disdain for the patriarchy, while Leon will end up as a barista with half his head shaved down one side, eyeliner, and wear crucifix earrings.
Cregger’s claims of being a huge fan of the game series, stating he’s played all of them (sure, dude. I bet you have) should show a bit more respect, one would think, of the lore. Instead, not wanting to “stay obedient” to it is literally the opposite and a huge red flag right off the starting line. Cregger went on to say he especially loves Resident Evil 4 having played it so many times he can probably parry a chainsaw blindfolded. But let’s not forget: every director who’s ever touched this cursed franchise says the exact same thing. “I’m a big fan,” they say. “I’ve played the games,” they claim. Then they hand us Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Welcome to Raccoon City, or that critically panned 2022 Netflix series where Wesker (Lance Reddick) is a suburban dad.
To his credit, Cregger knows the horde is coming. “No matter what I do, people are going to come for me online,” he said, in the exhausted voice of someone who’s already imagining IGN’s 4/10 review and a thousand YouTube thumbnails of his face next to a dumpster fire. Still, he insists he’s just trying to make “a really good movie” and hopes audiences feel the same.
Here’s an idea: just tell the story the games tell, you f*cking dunce. You are expecting controversy and online hate because you are practically inviting it in like a vampire through your doorstep with your “creative liberties”. Shut that shit down, right now. Lessen the backlash. It really is that simple, Cregger. I promise you.
Cregger’s words would be more reassuring if we hadn’t heard it all before. Over and over. And over. Every time someone tries to “reimagine” Resident Evil for the big screen (or the small screen), we end up with a half-baked mess that pleases neither casual moviegoers nor fans who can name every Umbrella executive or S.T.A.R.S. member in alphabetical order. The lore is right there. The characters are iconic. Yet somehow, every adaptation treats the games like an optional suggestion rather than the literal blueprint for success.
Cregger’s got Weapons coming out in August, an original horror flick starring Julia Garner and Josh Brolin, which has the potential to be decent. But Resident Evil? That’s his first attempt at adapting a franchise so beloved and so mishandled that fans now flinch anytime someone says the word “faithful” in Hollywood.
Like every time before, we are once again getting an overly-confident director who is an alleged “fan” that wants to slap their vision all over a franchise that has never once receiving a halfway faithful live-action adaptation.
At the very least, we just hope Cregger gets someone better than another CW reject to play Chris Redfield. I mean, Yeesh.
