The Resident Evil franchise is currently experiencing heightened interest from both veteran enthusiasts and those new to the series, thanks to the success of Resident Evil Requiem and the 30th anniversary of the original game. Although the series has historically struggled in film adaptations, a new reboot slated for later this year might finally alter that perception. Following his rise to prominence in modern horror with his first two celebrated movies, Barbarian and Weapons, filmmaker Zach Cregger is now focusing his creative vision on Raccoon City.
Details about Cregger’s reboot have remained largely confidential, though the producer has confirmed it will present an independent interpretation not bound to the games’ established canon. However, that veil of secrecy may have recently been broken, as the screenplay for the upcoming movie has allegedly surfaced online. The response from the broader Resident Evil community suggests the material is both surprising and innovative—for better or worse—featuring a pivotal deviation that distinguishes it from all previous film adaptations and game entries.
The Resident Evil screenplay appeared on 4chan over the weekend before proliferating across other online platforms such as Reddit and Twitter. While skepticism about the document’s legitimacy would be natural, its complete removal from the internet suggests there may be truth to it. According to remarks and conversations from users and fans who reviewed the screenplay before its deletion, the content appears consistent with previously disclosed details about the movie—namely that it takes place in Raccoon City and centers on Austin Abrams portraying a medical courier called Bryan. Beyond these points, the leaked information takes a dramatic shift.
While this information warrants caution, a summary of the screenplay posted on ResetEra describes Bryan as being stranded in Raccoon City while transporting what he thinks are essential organs, desperately seeking an escape route to reunite with his expectant spouse. His situation worsens considerably when he’s attacked and bitten by a contaminated canine, transforming the entire narrative into a desperate race against time as Bryan searches for a method to halt his T-virus contamination.
Although numerous characters throughout the franchise have contracted the T-virus, the primary protagonists have typically either received treatment or possessed some form of resistance that preserves their humanity—often accompanied by advantageous mutations resembling superhuman abilities. No main series game has ever offered a first-person viewpoint of an ordinary citizen grappling with infection, an individual lacking the means to combat the virus effectively. By delivering an unprecedented, ground-level portrayal of the Raccoon City incident, Cregger can leave his distinctive mark on the property by depicting the gradual physical and mental deterioration caused by the T-virus directly.
In Weapons, one of the film’s most subtly disturbing elements involved observing young Alex’s parents gradually deteriorate due to the enchantment placed upon them. Even though Resident Evil’s zombie contagion operates on entirely different principles, an emerging horror visionary like Cregger will undoubtedly embrace the heartbreaking cruelty of our protagonist’s transformation into something grotesque and inhuman—a concept the games themselves have never truly explored with a playable figure. Though some fans remain disheartened that the movie will pursue a standalone narrative, the prospect of experiencing the T-virus’s effects through a novel and frighteningly personal lens offers compelling anticipation for Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil when it arrives in theaters later this year.