This'll sound familiar: Resident Evil is getting a movie reboot. Yep, another one! Just a few years after 2021's reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, another Resident Evil reboot is reportedly in the works. Just like a zombie, this movie series seems unkillable.
Also like a zombie, it's pretty stinky and usually rotten. The seven live-action Resident Evil films have been a string of critical flops, with none of them scoring above 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. And even if you discount snooty critics, fan scores never get above 67% for any of the six original Mila Jovovich films, either. The 2021 movie reboot was also pretty heavily panned, the television show on Netflix didn't make anyone happy, and I don't even know what's going on in this gunfight from one of the CG movies
So, why take yet another stab at a Resident Evil movie adaptation? Well: money. As bad as they are, the Resident Evil movies have collectively earned over a billion dollars at the box office. And, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Zach Cregger will write and direct the new Resident Evil reboot, which got the attention of several studios.
Cregger made a name for himself as a horror director after 2022's Barbarian, which was legit good. The Hollywood Reporter also says that Cregger's next horror film, Weapons, is testing well (though it's not set to be released until 2026), which has led to a bidding war over Cregger's Resident Evil reboot, with Netflix, Warner Bros, and other studios all trying to acquire it.
As for the reboot itself, it's reported to be "a revamp that will take the title to its horror roots and be more faithful to the initial games," though I feel like that's what they said about the last reboot, too? I've asked Netflix for comment and will update this story if I hear back.
