'Resident Evil' Trailer: Can Zach Cregger Crack the Video Game Adaptation Code?

Video game adaptations are having a major moment in Hollywood, as a generation of millennials who grew up playing them are finally getting a chance to adapt them for the big screen.

But in the 90s and early 2000s, video game adaptations were kind of a trap. There were a lot of adaptations that failed or were downright bad.

Yet now, between the prestige drama of The Last of Us and the stylized chaos of Fallout , Hollywood has finally realized that gamers just want them to honor the experience of the game and the heart of the narrative.

And now, Sony Pictures is doubling down on this trend with a fresh take on one of the greatest franchises in gaming history: Resident Evil.

Even better, they brought Zach Cregger in to write and direct.

Let's dive in.

The Resident Evil Trailer

Resident Evil was such a formative horror game in my life. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but my brother is, and I would watch over his shoulder as he navigates the story. It's a core memory for me.

We've seen movies in the Resident Evil world before, but the trailer reveals something much smaller and personal.

The trailer, directed by Zach Cregger (the mastermind behind the breakout horror hits Barbarian and Weapons), leans heavily into the slow-burn suspense that the original games were famous for and that brought me back to my youth.

The teaser follows a character named Bryan who, after a mishap on the road, finds himself in a seemingly abandoned house looking for a phone.

From there, we get that Cregger touch of genuinely fearsome imagery.

Why This Matters for Filmmakers

For years, the "video game movie curse" was blamed on the difficulty of translating interactive mechanics to a linear narrative, and also on creators who seemed not to understand the joy of the stories on screen.

But as this trailer shows, the secret might be an auteur-driven interpretation of someone who really loves the games.

By hiring a director like Cregger and a writer like Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 3), Sony is signaling that they are prioritizing a specific cinematic language over "easter egg" hunting.

And the use of IMAX suggests a scale designed to immerse the audience in the environment, just like the games.

Summing It All Up

The movie is set to come out on September 18, 2026, so we have a while to wait before we see if this bold new direction pays off. But, if this teaser is any indication, the "New Era of Evil" might be the most terrifying one yet.

Let me know what you think in the comments.