Zach Cregger is wasting no time after Weapons. The writer director has lined up his next scare with a new Resident Evil for Sony Pictures, and the casting is already taking shape. Paul Walter Hauser is set to join Austin Abrams in the adaptation of Capcom’s survival horror staple. Sony plans to release the film in theaters on September 18, 2026.
Cregger is directing and wrote the script with Shay Hatten. The producing roster points to a big studio push. Constantin Film is producing and co financing, with Robert Kulzer alongside Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Miri Yoon and PlayStation Productions leads Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan. Victor Hadida is executive producing for Constantin and Davis Films. TriStar Pictures president Nicole Brown is overseeing for Sony.
This is a franchise with proven reach. The earlier run of Resident Evil films built a loyal audience and cleared more than one billion dollars worldwide across the series. Those entries leaned into action and sci fi spectacle. Cregger has suggested a different flavor for this one. He has talked about channeling the games’ rhythm and dread, following a single character through a descent that grows stranger and more dangerous the deeper it goes. That approach fits his instincts from Barbarian and the slow tightening he favors when building tension.
Hauser brings range that should help sell that tension. He won major awards for Black Bird and then spent this year showing very different gears in a quick burst of roles. He popped as Mole Man in The Fantastic Four First Steps, traded deadpan with Liam Neeson in The Naked Gun, and delivered a grounded turn as a veteran in Americana. He also earned strong notices for The Luckiest Man in America, and he has more on the way with Deliver Me From Nowhere opposite Jeremy Allen White. It is the kind of run that makes his jump into a survival horror lead or key supporting role feel like a natural next step.
Abrams gives the project a fresh center. His casting signals that Cregger is not chasing a retread of the earlier films but is instead building around a new face who can carry a slow burn. Pairing Abrams with Hauser suggests a story that can pivot between vulnerability and volatility, which is exactly what a Resident Evil movie needs when the walls start closing in.
There are still plenty of secrets. Sony has not revealed specific plot details. The creative team is deep with people who understand genre and games, from Vertigo to PlayStation Productions, which should help the film walk the line between serving fans of the source and welcoming new viewers. If Cregger’s comments about tone hold true, expect fewer superhero style shootouts and more white knuckle exploration, locked doors, and the kind of discoveries that make your stomach drop.
Sony has circled fall 2026 for the release. That gives Cregger time to fine tune the mix of practical scares and large scale production that a modern game adaptation demands. If the film lands, it could mark a new chapter for Resident Evil on the big screen, one that leans into what makes the games so enduring. Creeping dread. Claustrophobic spaces. Bad decisions that feel inevitable.
For now the headline is simple. A proven horror filmmaker. A fan favorite actor with momentum. A franchise that still has bite. Keep an eye on this one as casting rounds out and production moves forward.
Sources: Deadline
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