Sony and Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot has set its sights on its first casting choice, with Euphoria’s Austin Abrams in the running to star in the horror movie based on Capcom’s long-running video game series.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sony is moving along at a brisk pace to meet the film’s reported 18 September 2026 release date, with a shoot in Europe planned for Summer this year, to which Cregger has already begun scouting for viable locations.
Abrams, who is known for his roles as Ethan Daley on HBO’s Euphoria and appearances in big-name titles like The Walking Dead and This Is Us, is not only being eyed for the movie’s leading role but is also set to star in Cregger’s other upcoming horror film, Weapons, alongside Josh Brolin and Julia Garner.
As Resident Evil’s leading man, it will be interesting to see who Abrams will portray in the film, with the star looking more like Leon Kennedy than Chris Redfield – the latter being the main protagonist of the film’s inspiration, Capcom’s 1996 classic survival horror game of the same name – so it’s unclear if he will play Redfield or an entirely original character similar to Milla Jovovich’s Alice in Paul W. S. Anderson’s Resident Evil film series.
The Hollywood Reporter’s sources also add that the film will stick to its horror roots, unlike the mix of horror, sci-fi and action genres of Anderson’s sextuple, and will feature “elements of a wilderness survival thriller”, which should fit right in with Cregger’s breakout film Barbarian, and alludes to its characters having to use everything they have at their disposal to deal with insurmountable odds.
The Resident Evil reboot will be co-written by Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 4, Army of the Dead) and is produced by Constantin Film, PlayStation Productions and Vertigo Entertainment, with a planned release date of 18 September 2026.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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