The director of Weapons and Barbarian designed his new Resident Evil as a standalone film but tells Polygon he has ideas for continuing the story after the movie’s completion and early box office momentum.
Resident Evil (2026) was conceived as a one-off, but director Zach Cregger now has sequel ideas after finishing the film.
Early box-office tracking suggests a strong opening: Deadline reported a projected domestic weekend between $35 million and $50 million.
The movie follows a medical courier (Austin Abrams) into an overrun Raccoon City and aims to capture the feeling of playing a Resident Evil game rather than directly adapting existing characters.
# What happened Zach Cregger, director of the new Resident Evil (2026), told Polygon he originally planned the movie as a "one and done" project. After completing the film, he found himself with additional ideas for where the story could go and is open to a sequel. Early box-office tracking also points toward a strong opening that could increase the chances of follow-ups.
# What the film is and what it aims to do The movie follows a medical courier, played by Austin Abrams, who travels to Raccoon City after it's become infested with zombies and other monsters. Cregger's stated goal was not to lift the franchise's characters and plot directly but to translate the feeling of surviving a Resident Evil worst-case scenario — the sensations and stakes of being in that world.
# Box-office context and why a sequel looks likely Deadline reported that Resident Evil is tracking for a domestic opening weekend between $35 million and $50 million. That range would mark a strong start for a new take on the franchise. For comparison, the previous theatrical reboot, 2021's Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, finished its theatrical run with about $41.9 million worldwide. The stronger opening projection for the 2026 film gives Sony Pictures a financial reason to consider sequels.
# What Cregger actually said about sequels When asked whether he intended to start a new trilogy, Cregger told Polygon he hadn't been thinking that way during production. After completing the film, however, he said ideas began to percolate and he couldn't help coming up with possibilities for continuing the story. He also stressed his immediate next move: he plans to make a different movie next — a sci-fi film called The Flood — before revisiting Resident Evil, if that happens.
# Timing and related release info Resident Evil opens in theaters on Sept. 18, 2026. Cregger's original sci-fi project, The Flood, is scheduled for release on Aug. 11, 2028 and is being produced by Steven Spielberg's production company, Amblin Entertainment.
# Why this matters to fans and studios
# Bottom line Resident Evil (2026) began as a standalone translation of the franchise's survival-horror sensations. Early reactions and box-office projections make a sequel plausible, and Cregger says he already has ideas. He still plans to make another original movie first, which could delay or shape any follow-up to Resident Evil.
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