Zach Cregger to Tackle ‘Resident Evil’ Reboot, Igniting Bidding War (Exclusive)

The fight for Zach Cregger’s new movie is on.

In what seems to have become the first major auction of the year, an intense bidding war is underway for a reboot of Resident Evil, the horror action movie franchise based on the popular video games. Cregger is attached to write and direct.

Four studios are elbowing for the win, among them Warner Bros. and Netflix, according to sources.

Constantin Film, which has held the screen rights to the title since the late 1990s and has been behind the previous movies, will produce the reboot along with PlayStation Productions.

The movies, six starring Milla Jovovich plus one origin feature made during the pandemic, have been moneymakers. But Cregger is the reason studios are willing to shell out major money.

Cregger was an actor and comedian who reinvented himself as a cutting edge filmmaker with Barbarian, the 2022 cult hit that he wrote and directed. It also established him as a new voice in horror, and when he went out with his follow-up horror project, a bidding war erupted. That upcoming film, titled Weapons, was won by Warners’ New Line division and saw him become a final cut director. The horror movie has Josh Brolin and Julia Garner in its ensemble cast.

The word on Weapons is very strong and has been testing quite high, according to sources. And Warners, which has not yet dated the movie, is likely doing everything it can to keep Cregger in its talent fold.

And the combination of Cregger paired with an established intellectual property is also likely to be something too tempting to pass up, no matter the cost.

The Resident Evil movies, based on the Capcom video games, were a mix of horror, sci-fi and action genres and followed the adventures of a heroine who fights zombies and the Umbrella Corporation, the bio warfare company that let loose the monsters. The movies have grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide.

Cregger’s take is described by sources as a revamp that will take the title to its horror roots and be more faithful to the initial games, which date back to 1996.