Resident Evil movie reboot could be on the way
Despite the end of Welcome to Raccoon City neatly setting up a sequel and Roberts expressing a desire to return, those plans could (thankfully) be dead in the water. Instead, Jeff Sneider claims another reboot is on the way – this time, courtesy of Barbarian’s Zach Cregger.
According to The InSneider (paywalled), Cregger passed on directing a reboot of 1985’s Clue because Sony offered him $1.5 million instead of the $4 million he wanted. Instead, he could be eyeing a Resident Evil reboot for the studio. Although we should take all of the above with a pinch of salt, the site adds that this will be “a full reboot that would start from scratch.”
Cregger has already cut his teeth on body horror with 2022’s Barbarian, which became a surprise underground hit and earned an impressive $45.4 million against a budget of around $4-$4.5 million. Barbarian balanced strong characters and humour, both of which are imperative to the Resiverse.
This might all sound promising, but having been burned too many times before, franchise fans are obviously sceptical. One unconvinced Res-head wrote, “After that Netflix bullsh*t I think we’re good,” while another added, “Let fans step in, ya’ll had literally 10 tried and failed every single one.”
Summing up what many think, someone chimed in, “After the complete disappointment that was WTRC and the abysmal Netflix series, I would welcome another Milla Jovovich sequel. You can’t say you’re going to produce an RE movie that follows the games, then condense the first 3 games into one movie, diluting everything.”
Others were more optimistic, with a fourth concluding, “I just hope it is loyal to the games’ lore. That’s all the fans have been asking for, no need for another Alice character, no need to change anything. Just follow the games, and have one of the greatest movie franchises ever.”
We can’t help but think how Welcome to Raccoon City tried to condense multiple games into one movie, feeling like a kitchen sink of ideas that failed to flesh out our beloved characters. For the time being, it seems the only good Resident Evil adaptation is an animated one. Can Cregger change that? Wait and (potentially) see.
