Zach Cregger Isn’t Sure He Wants Kids — So He Wrote That Anxiety Into ‘Resident Evil’

After making 17 children disappear into the night for last year’s Oscar-winning “Weapons,” Zach Cregger still isn’t sure if he wants to have kids of his own.

“I’m always kind of writing myself into my characters,” the filmmaker told IndieWire ahead of Sony’s new “Resident Evil,” in theaters on September 18. “I’m in my forties now and I don’t have kids, but those conversations are always around.”

That uncertainty, and even more excitement, came up repeatedly during Cregger’s recent conversation with IndieWire, digging into the first 30 minutes of his upcoming adaptation. Based on Capcom’s infamous survival games, Cregger’s “Resident Evil” stars Austin Abrams as Bryan: a slacker medical courier sent into the heart of Raccoon City for a truly nightmarish delivery run.

“He thinks he’s in a horror movie of his own because he’s faced with this really scary situation that he’s not prepared for,” Cregger said, describing an emotional phone call between Bryan and his girlfriend that anchors the opening. “Then, he gets interrupted by an actual horror movie.”

The nature of the argument is left ambiguous in Sony’s official trailer, and the studio would prefer we leave the specifics vague until “Resident Evil” comes out. What really matters for understanding how Cregger developed the character and his backstory for the film is that Bryan liked his life before all hell broke loose — and even then, he knew perfectly well that fate could change anything at anytime.

“It was a way in that helped me invest in the character and the story myself, so that the writing felt more valuable and more visceral for me,” Cregger said.

‘Resident Evil’ (2026)©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

“His life right now, without his choosing, has reached a really crucial fork in the road,” the director continued. “It’s like, am I going to embrace change and take a leap into something that’s terrifying, but potentially going to improve my life? Or am I going to dig in my heels and try to freeze time and stay exactly where I am, which is comfortable, even though he realizes that’s not possible?”

The new “Resident Evil” not only steps away from the games’ established heroes, but it also marks a turning point in Cregger’s career. After breaking out with 2022’s “Barbarian” and winning major awards recognition with “Weapons,” the horror auteur will attempt to transpose his unique perspective onto a global franchise loudly voicing its highest expectations yet.

“I’m exhausted. I’ll be honest with you,” Cregger said. “I finished the movie less than a week ago. It was a real buzzer-beater, so I came right out of just the frantic mad dash to get this thing polished up and out the door in time for the deadline.”

September 18, he joked, “couldn’t come soon enough.” Then, he might be able to relax.

“All I can do is just hope that people connect with it the way that I do,” Cregger said. “And if they do, wonderful. And if they don’t, hopefully I’ll be able to make another movie and try again. I have to recognize what is in my control and what’s not in my control and make peace with that.”

‘Resident Evil’ (2026)©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Reuniting with Abrams, at least, proves a terrific start. As James in “Weapons,” the 30-year-old actor embodied a strangely lovable screw-up that drove one of the 2025 film’s most compelling chase sequences. A thief and drug addict who burglarized homes and tried to sell information about missing kids so he could get high, James wasn’t defensible on paper — even to Cregger.

“And yet everybody adored him and wanted to just put him in their pocket and take him home,” the director said. “I was like, ‘OK, there’s some magical quality about this guy that you can’t help but just root for him.’” The two developed a joyful rhythm on set, egging each other on and rushing back to the monitor between takes.

“We’d watch it back, giggle like maniacs, and then do it again,” Cregger said.

The filmmaker was still editing “Weapons” when “Resident Evil” became real, and Cregger said that casting Abrams wasn’t “even a debate.” Swapping dirty fingernails for loose shotgun shells, Abrams carves Bryan from the same gnarled sense of desperation — but gives the character’s spirit a kinder shade overall.

“I’m more interested in watching an every man than a commando,” Cregger explained. “This whole world is kind of pitted against this guy. It’s not just that it’s infested with zombies and mutants. The environment itself is trying to make his progress arduous.”

‘Weapons’ (2025)©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

The first half-hour of “Resident Evil” plays as one continuous sequence, initially positioning the camera over Bryan’s shoulder before expanding into the tactile, propulsive style that made James’ chapter in “Weapons” such a rush. The role comes amid a particularly rough year for Abrams characters who get trapped inside biohazards. Less than a month after “Resident Evil,” he’ll also star in Brian Duffield’s “Whalefall” as a diver who gets swallowed by a sperm whale.

“[Bryan] makes the mistakes that I would make,” Cregger said of his pleasantly ordinary “Resident Evil” protagonist. “If I had to figure out how to use a machine gun while adrenaline was coursing through my veins, I would make a lot of mistakes, and he does.”

More than imitating the video games visually, Cregger plays with the expectations the “Resident Evil” format itself creates. Judging by the beginning, he does well capturing the panic of knowing what you need only to find you can’t reach it, while Abrams more than delivers on the nerves and dark comedy.

“It makes his tiny victories resonate more because we recognize the difficulty,” Cregger said.

‘Resident Evil’ (2026)©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Discussing the obstacles along Bryan’s harrowing path to safety, he added, “It’s fun to implement that into a movie because you don’t usually have a scene where a character is just trying to find the keys.” That synthesis — of grounded emotional development and intricate puzzle design — seems to have made Cregger, Abrams, and “Resident Evil” a killer fit so far. 

“What I love about ‘Resident Evil’ as a franchise is the visceral aspect of the gameplay,” the director said. “I love the slow dread, and I love the resource management, and that it’s not just a pray-and-spray action game. It’s like a plotting, methodical journey into hell.”

For Bryan, that voyage begins with a stressful phone call and the realization that his relationship with his girlfriend might never be the same again. For Cregger, it arrives at the end of a frantic post-production sprint, as he waits to see whether the result will indeed become his biggest movie yet. Neither man knows exactly what comes next, but both will move forward.

 “The movie’s done and I can’t change it,” Cregger said. “If I really sit and think about it, I’m sure I could work myself into some sort of an anxious state, but also: I love the movie.”

Sony Pictures will release “Resident Evil” in theaters on Friday, September 18.