Zach Cregger says he already has ideas for where the Resident Evil movie 2026 could go next, even though the first film has not reached cinemas yet. In a new interview with The Playlist, the director stopped short of calling a sequel official, but said he cannot help thinking about other places the story could go.
The comment comes as Cregger promotes his first Resident Evil film, which stars Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier caught in Raccoon City during the outbreak. The director has described the film as an original story rather than a direct adaptation of Leon Kennedy or another established game character.
Resident Evil movie 2026 sequel ideas are not official yet
Cregger told The Playlist that he has ideas, then added a fairly important qualification: “this movie hasn’t even come out yet”. He wants to see how audiences respond before deciding whether those ideas belong on screen.
That leaves the comments in the familiar pre-release category: a director thinking aloud, rather than a studio announcement. Columbia Pictures has scheduled the film for cinemas on September 18, 2026. Deadline’s interview with Cregger and Abrams also describes the film as a 95-minute, game-inspired horror story built around tension, atmosphere and practical action.
Zach Cregger Already Has ‘Ideas’ About What He’d Do for a Second Resident Evil Movie
Zach Cregger says he’d love to tell more stories in the Resident Evil universe, admitting he already has “ideas” about where he’d take things in a second film.Cregger’s Resident Evil movie releases on September 18, 2026. It’s a decidedly different take on Capcom’s flagship horror franchise that tells a totally original tale, following an average Joe who’s forced to navigate the chaos of the Raccoon City Incident.This decision has, unsurprisingly, split the series’ fanbase — but Cregger has maintained that he’s a huge fan of the games and didn’t just “slap” Resident Evil onto the movie to “get a budget.” In fact, he’s already got an idea of where he’d take a second film if everything goes well.When asked if he’d like to remain in the Resident Evil universe during an interview with The Playlist, Cregger answered: “I can’t help thinking about other places this story could go. I’ve got ideas, but this movie hasn’t even come out yet. Let’s see what happens.”With Barbarian, I’ve never entertained the idea of a sequel or another movie in that universe because that story is, at its heart, so foul,” he continued. “What makes Barbarian interesting is the unfolding of the narrative, not the subject matter. I don’t think I want to write another story about what that movie is about. But this is different. I want to talk about the ending of this movie so badly, because there is a big aspect of it that’s worth discussing. This is a different situation.”Thankfully, Resident Evil is already shaping up to have the most successful movie launch in the franchise’s history; early predictions suggest the horror flick could earn $40M – $50M during its opening weekend, potentially outearning any other movie adaptation of the game series.Excitement (and trepidation) for Cregger’s version of events is at an all-time high, and regular teasers have been rolling out showing more and more of what we can expect when September 18 arrives. Most recently, a Spanish-language trailer from Sony España showed a glimpse of a creature that looks an awful lot like it’s been overtaken by Las Plagas, the parasite Leon fights in Resident Evil 4.A promotional poster was also shared on the movie’s official social media accounts that showed an X-ray of a Doberman Pinscher, suggesting that the T-Virus infected dogs will make a possible appearance in the movie as a lovely callback to the earlier games.For now, we’ll just have to wait and see if Resident Evil lives up to the hype — or lack thereof, with Cregger telling us that he was “naive” to expect all fans of the games would be happy with his decision to avoid a direct adaptation of “stories the games tell so well.”
The new interview adds to what is known about Cregger’s approach. He pitched the story to Constantin Film before writing the screenplay, and said he wanted to avoid using game characters whose stories already exist in the games. Our earlier coverage has more on the film’s first-person sequences and Cregger’s original approach to the franchise.
What would a Resident Evil sequel be about?
Nothing has been disclosed about a sequel’s plot, characters or release timing. Cregger’s remarks only confirm that he has been considering possible directions for the story beyond the first film.
The first Resident Evil movie is scheduled to open in cinemas on September 18, 2026. UAE listings and a local release date were not verified for this brief.
Has a Resident Evil sequel been announced?
No. Zach Cregger said he has ideas for where the story could go, but no sequel has been officially announced.
When does Resident Evil movie 2026 release?
The film is scheduled to open in cinemas on September 18, 2026. A UAE-specific release date was not verified for this brief.
Who stars in Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie?
Austin Abrams leads the film as Bryan, a medical courier caught in the Raccoon City outbreak.
