Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” Movie Debuts Teaser Trailer

A teaser trailer for Sony’s upcoming live-action Resident Evil movie, helmed by Zach Cregger, has been released. And yeah, as a fan of the long-running video game IP, I’m cautiously optimistic.

Whether you enjoyed them or not, you can’t deny the fact that the action-heavy Resident Evil series starring Milla Jovovich made bank at the box office. Ever since the series drew to a close with Resident Evil: The Final Chapter back in 2017, Sony’s been trying to keep the RE IP going. And fans have been begging the studio to give them an iteration that felt true to the video games they grew up playing.

Netflix brought the franchise to the small screen with the poorly received Resident Evil series in 2022, which (to no surprise to anyone) lasted only a single season. The IP also returned to the big screen with Welcome to Raccoon City in 2021, with the narrative focusing on iconic characters from the games. However, even that particular project failed to meet fan expectations.

And now the RE fandom is being asked to brace itself again for a completely new take on the IP for the big screen with Zach Cregger‘s Resident Evil, hitting theaters on September 18, 2026, and starring Austin Abrams.

Though Cregger has proved himself with films like Weapons and Barbarian, most of the RE fandom couldn’t help but give him a side eye when it was revealed that the upcoming project wouldn’t be completely based on the games and would, instead, feature an original story.

Sigh!

Why the heck can’t Sony just give the world a well-written RE adaptation? I doubt creating such a story would be hard, considering all of the lore out there.

Anyway, a teaser trailer for the new Resident Evil movie has been released, and having watched it, I’m, frankly, ‘Meh!’ about it. Yes, a particular scene with all of the limbs coming out of the doorway was cool, but the overall content didn’t really give me RE.

The fandom has already begun making jokes about how the upcoming storyline seems to be about one of the numerous characters across the games that leave journal entries for the lead characters to read. And while that can make for a fun horror-centric adventure, it’s not necessarily the core of what made the Resident Evil franchise popular in the first place.

From the very first game from back in 1996 to Resident Evil Requiem in 2026, the iconic lead characters have been, more or less, professionals being forced to address threats they could have (initially) never imagined and stumbling upon a global conspiracy backed by a pharmaceutical company.

Focusing the entire story on some random guy just won’t work for what the RE fandom really craves, even when the horror elements are delivered tenfold. Yes, Resident Evil 7 starred Ethan Winters as a random guy fighting for his survival while searching for his missing wife, but still, the base of the ongoing story was the professional agents and conspiracies from the predecessor titles.

Frankly, to me, having watched the teaser trailer, the upcoming Resident Evil movie would have worked better as a spin-off that came after at least two solid new RE movies instead of the debut chapter to what Sony, I assume, likely hopes is a successful go at another live-action RE series.

Have you watched the Resident Evil teaser trailer? What did you think of it?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary