Resident Evil movie director Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons) has teased that his upcoming video game movie will have “really wild” sequences with “f**ked up and weird” imagery.
He said this in an interview with Empire (via GamesRadar), adding that he’s unsure if the “lighting-in-a-bottle” nature of the spooky Aunt Gladys character from Weapons will be repeatable in Resident Evil. But Cregger promised that the Resident Evil movie has “a couple of things” that are “really wild.”
Cregger has also talked about how the Resident Evil movie is the most violent thing he’s ever worked on, saying it was important for him to be “grotesque” with it.
“Total freedom”
Also in the interview, Cregger discussed how he was given “total freedom” to do whatever he wanted with the Resident Evil movie. He added that he received “final-cut” privileges on the movie, meaning Cregger himself–not the studio–had the final say in the version of Resident Evil coming to theaters.
“I was not interfered with. I didn’t have anyone putting any sort of limitations on me,” he said, following on from reports that said Cregger was given carte blanche to make the movie he wanted to.
Only a small handful of directors are known to get final-cut privilege, with Cregger joining a group that also includes Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese, to name a few. Cregger also had final-cut privileges on Weapons, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Weapons, however, was an original idea from Cregger, whereas Resident Evil is a Capcom property. Many have already voiced their displeasure and concerns about the choices Cregger has alluded to for his take on Resident Evil. For his part, Cregger says he is a massive Resident Evil fan, but he wanted to tell his own story.
“This movie is about one dude’s journey on foot, fighting monsters. I don’t give a f**k about checking boxes,” he said. “All I cared about was just telling a fun story. [One in which] we step on the gas at about eight minutes in and never take our foot off the floor.”
The Resident Evil movie releases on September 18. It stars Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier who is sent to a hospital in Raccoon City. According to Cregger, Abrams was very nearly killed by a 150-pound blood bag while filming a scene that made it into the final cut.
For more, check out GameSpot’s breakdown of the latest terrifying new trailer for the Resident Evil movie.
As for the Resident Evil game series, Capcom recently announced that the newest entry, Resident Evil Requiem, has now sold more than 8 million units.