When the first trailer for the upcoming Resident Evil movie hit the internet earlier today, the reaction was about what you would expect for a film that seems devoid of any main franchise characters. Some people were excited. And some people were disappointed. But according to director and writer Zach Cregger (Weapons, Barbarian) he didn’t want to retell Leon’s story or the events of a past game because it would be “redundant” and likely “disappointing.”
In a new interview with the Official PlayStation Blog, Cregger mentioned not once, but twice, that this movie isn’t an adaptation of a specific game or character story, but instead is a new tale set in the Resident Evil universe, roughly during the events of Resident Evil 2.
“I wanted to tell a story that could take place in the Resident Evil world, but wasn’t telling a story that the games had already told,” said Cregger. “To me, I would feel like there’s kind of no winning there if I were to tell Leon’s story, because the games do such a great job. It would just be kind of redundant, and ultimately, I think, disappointing.”
And then later in the same interview, the horror director and writer reiterated that, as mentioned before, this is a new story set in the Resident Evil universe.
‘I feel so sensitive about talking about the movie on behalf of the game fans,” said Cregger. “Because I think some of the fans are only going to be happy if I tell the story of the games. And I’m not doing that, because I feel like I wouldn’t do it justice. I feel like the games do such a great job of telling that story.”
Expect Umbrella Corp to pop up in the movie
If you’re worried that there won’t be any Resident Evil lore or elements in this movie, don’t be. Cregger explained to the PlayStation Blog that the movie will feature nods to the games. More importantly, when asked what the key parts of a Resident Evil story are, Cregger said: “Well, the world of Resident Evil is that this T-virus that the Umbrella Corporation is responsible for has caused a terrible zombie mutant breakout. And so things are going completely amok everywhere you look, and that’s a fun playground for me.”
That makes it sound a lot like this movie will tie into the larger world of Resident Evil, but without forcing Leon and other famous faces to show up and be heroes. And I’m all for that. We got plenty of Resident Evil movies (both animated and live-action) that featured returning characters and story moments from the games. I’m far more excited for something like Cregger’s vision for a Resident Evil movie: telling a simple story set during the events of one of the games and making it really scary and tense. That seems like a smart approach to making a new Resident Evil film.
“I would rather just kind of celebrate everything I love about the games,” said Cregger. “By telling the story that could exist on the sidelines of one of the games.”