MOVIE NEWS – Zach Cregger is not placing Leon Kennedy, Jill Valentine or another veteran from the games at the center of his new Resident Evil film. Instead, the story follows an ordinary medical courier who, according to the director, begins as Marty McFly but gradually finds traces of John McClane and Kevin McCallister when survival becomes the only available career option.

Zach Cregger, director of Barbarian and Weapons, has repeatedly explained that his Resident Evil project will not directly adapt the plot of an existing Capcom game. It takes place inside the same universe and follows familiar rules, but introduces an original group of characters and a new storyline. Austin Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier with no military training, police experience or special combat abilities. He is precisely the sort of person whose most dangerous encounter near an Umbrella facility should involve an uncooperative parking meter.

From a Time-Traveling Teenager to a Barefoot Action Hero

Cregger has described Bryan as primarily inspired by Marty McFly. He talks quickly, occasionally behaves recklessly and frequently makes the wrong decision, but remains capable of adapting when confronted with problems far beyond his experience. He does not enter the story as an action hero; circumstances force him to learn how to survive. The director has also cited John McClane as an important reference. The protagonist of Die Hard worked because he was never an invulnerable super-soldier, but an exhausted and increasingly injured man struggling through an impossible situation. Bryan will similarly need to improvise, keep moving while wounded and transform whatever he finds into a practical tool.

That is where the Kevin McCallister comparison becomes relevant. Bryan reportedly uses traps and the surrounding environment to gain an advantage over creatures he could never defeat in a straightforward fight. The only difference is that these intruders are likely to mutate, bite and remain considerably less discouraged by a paint can swinging into their faces.

A Game Adaptation Without the Games’ Familiar Heroes

Cregger has stressed that the film will not overwrite the stories of Leon, Jill, Chris or Claire. Those characters continue to exist in the video game continuity, while the movie follows another person attempting to survive inside the same fictional world. Rather than recreating a specific sequence, the director wants to capture the sensation produced by the games: vulnerability, limited resources, the tension of entering an unfamiliar room and the moment when the player realizes that only three bullets remain while at least four separate things are breathing behind the next door.

The new Resident Evil is scheduled for theatrical release on September 18, 2026. If Bryan truly combines Marty McFly’s quick thinking, John McClane’s stubbornness and Kevin McCallister’s talent for improvised engineering, he may have a chance. Considering the history of Resident Evil movies, audiences should probably bring a few green herbs anyway.

Source: MovieWeb.