Sony has acquired the rights to Zach Cregger’s upcoming “Resident Evil” reboot. The film is set up with a September 18, 2026 release date in theatres.
There were four studios in the middle of an “intense” bidding war for this project, including Warner Bros and Netflix, but Sony, who had distributed the last set of ‘Resident Evil’ movies, will not be letting go of this franchise.
Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ reboot, which will be a more horror-focused, and faithful adaptation of the popular video games, has a screenplay that Cregger co-wrote with Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 3 & Chapter 4). Production is set to begin this summer.
The zombie franchise, which has already had seven instalments to its name, will have Cregger overseeing “a full reboot that would start from scratch.” The last ‘Resident Evil’ installment was released almost 10 years ago.
‘Resident Evil,’ based on the Capcom video games, is a hybrid of horror, sci-fi and action, following the adventures of a heroine who fights zombies, and a bio-warfare company that let loose the monsters. In total, the seven movies, all critically panned, have grossed over $1.2B worldwide.
Cregger broke out in late 2022, when “Barbarian” became a critical and commercial success, grossing $45M against a skimp $4.5M budget. He’s already shot his next film, “Weapons,” starring Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, among others, which has been garnering glowing reactions at test screenings, and is rumoured for fall release.