Zach Cregger Already Has Ideas for More ‘Resident Evil’ Movies, Even Though This Is His Only Franchise Film

Horror directors making the leap into established franchise territory often approach the experience with caution, wary of being pigeonholed into corporate filmmaking for the rest of their careers. Few filmmakers have navigated that transition as deliberately as the director behind two of the genre’s biggest recent hits.

Zach Cregger built his reputation on original, unsettling horror with ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Weapons,’ making his decision to take on a major video game adaptation feel like a genuine departure from his usual creative path. That departure is ‘Resident Evil,’ Cregger’s take on Capcom’s long-running survival horror series, arriving in theaters later this month.

Despite the film not even being released yet, Cregger has already started publicly weighing whether the story deserves a continuation. Speaking during a post-screening Q&A after an early 30-minute preview screening in Los Angeles, Cregger addressed the possibility of a sequel directly, saying he can’t help thinking about other places this story could go and admitting he’s already got ideas, even though the movie hasn’t come out yet, according to The Playlist.

That openness to expanding the story comes with a notable caveat. Cregger has made clear that ‘Resident Evil’ represents the only franchise property he plans to direct, telling interviewers he wants the freedom going forward to write whatever stories interest him rather than committing to another established universe.

That philosophy extends to how Cregger thinks about genre altogether. Speaking with Deadline about his broader creative approach, Cregger explained that he doesn’t necessarily set out targeting a specific genre for his next project, saying he just hopes to land on a good idea, with whatever concept resonates becoming the deciding factor regardless of category.

That mindset lines up with how Cregger describes his overall relationship to the ‘Resident Evil’ games themselves. He has previously described the film as a love letter to the franchise, emphasizing that his story remains obedient to the established lore of the games while telling an entirely original tale rather than retelling any existing character’s arc, since fans already have access to those stories through the games themselves.

Cregger’s confidence in expanding this new story further extends to his lead actor as well. Austin Abrams, who plays medical courier Bryan in the film, previously worked with Cregger on ‘Weapons’ in a smaller role as a neighborhood addict whose frantic escape became one of that film’s most memorable sequences.

Cregger reportedly began imagining Abrams in the lead role for ‘Resident Evil’ while they were still shooting ‘Weapons’ together, and never considered casting another actor for the part. That kind of early creative confidence suggests Cregger’s interest in continuing the story likely extends to keeping Abrams involved should any sequel actually move forward.

Early reactions to the film’s opening footage have already generated significant excitement, with some suggesting this could finally be the movie that proves a truly great horror video game adaptation is possible. That kind of buzz, combined with the film’s tracking projections pointing toward a potentially franchise-record opening weekend, gives Cregger’s sequel comments added weight heading into release.

‘Resident Evil’ is set to hit theaters on September 18, giving audiences their first chance to judge for themselves whether Cregger’s take on the beloved survival horror series lives up to his own evident enthusiasm for where the story could go next.

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