Sony’s Resident Evil Reboot Finds Its Lead Star

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The “Resident Evil” movie franchise, which dates back over twenty years in film production, appears to have identified its main actor for the upcoming reboot. Here’s hoping this new start will fare better than the previous attempt by Sony to revive the series.

The initial “Resident Evil” video game debuted in 1996, igniting a multimedia empire that encompasses various sectors such as gaming, comics, literature, television, cinema, and more creative ventures you can imagine. It’s challenging to fully appreciate the series’ impact, given its enduring popularity for nearly three decades. The game has almost yearly updates, generated numerous live-action and animated films, and even staged several stage plays. “Resident Evil” is a true cultural juggernaut, leaving an imprint that’s hard to quantify. Despite the occasional questionable quality, the original “Resident Evil” film series, helmed by writer/director Paul W. S. Anderson and featuring Milla Jovovich as Alicia “Alice” Marcus, spanned six movies over a fourteen-year timespan. This box office success from a video game franchise during an era where similar films often flopped is truly remarkable. Eager to milk this cash cow, Sony is aggressively working on a new “Resident Evil” film and has reportedly secured their leading actor.

Zach Cregger, the writer and director of “Barbarian”, is currently busy working on a reboot of “Resident Evil”. The creative team appears to have identified Austin Abrams as their top pick for the leading role in the new “Resident Evil” movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this choice makes sense given that Cregger and Abrams recently collaborated on the upcoming horror film “Weapons”, which also features Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, and Benedict Wong. If “Weapons” turns out to be a hit like “Barbarian” was in 2022, Sony Pictures will have a director-actor duo with a strong horror reputation that could generate excitement for another “Resident Evil” reboot.

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Previously, Sony Pictures attempted to revive the Resident Evil movie franchise in 2021 with the film Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. This movie, written and directed by horror filmmaker Johannes Roberts, was based on the stories from the first two video games in the series. With Roberts’ impressive resume and a talented cast including Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, Donal Logue, and Neal McDonough, expectations were high. Regrettably, despite these promising factors, the film was panned by critics and failed to perform well at the box office. This lackluster performance was mirrored in the subsequent Netflix Resident Evil series, which also deviated from the original storyline. Consequently, plans for sequels to Welcome to Raccoon City were scrapped, and the Netflix series did not receive a second season, leaving the franchise once again without direction.

Cregger possesses a keen knack for selecting intriguing projects, as evidenced by his recent works such as “Barbarian,” “Companion,” and “Weapons.” Therefore, recruiting him to spearhead the new film was an excellent initial decision. Adding Abrams to the team would be another shrewd choice. For almost fifteen years, Abrams has been a fixture in Hollywood, appearing in a diverse range of productions from “The Walking Dead” and “Euphoria” to “Paper Towns” and “Wolfs.” If an actor can thrive in roles spanning from “Shameless,” “Silicon Valley,” “The Americans,” to “This Is Us,” they have undeniably impressive acting abilities. It remains uncertain whether Abrams will portray a character from the video game series, resembling Leon Kennedy more than Chris Redfield or Ethan Winters, or if he’ll create an original character like Jovovich did with Alice throughout her career.

Regardless of the circumstances, it’s difficult not to feel energized about the project, given that professionals like Cregger and Abrams are involved. The world might finally be treated to a fantastic Resident Evil movie, one that transcends being just a cheesy B-movie experience.

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2025-03-23 20:44