Resident Evil Movie's State of Play Clip Shows the Scene That Nearly Killed Its Star
During Sony's PlayStation State of Play on September 3, 2026, the upcoming Resident Evil film debuted a new clip — a sequence director Zach Cregger filmed with practical effects instead of CGI, and one that nearly cost its lead actor his life.
The clip shows Austin Abrams' character Bryan, a medical courier, sprinting down a Raccoon City street as zombies hurl themselves off rooftops and burst on impact. To create those mid-air explosions without digital effects, the production team built 150-pound, body-sized blood bags and dropped them from cranes. One came close to striking Abrams. Cregger said it would have killed him — if Abrams had been one step to the right, the bag would have hit him, GameSpot reported from Cregger's account at San Diego Comic-Con.
Cregger confirmed the scene made it into the final cut. His remark, according to GameSpot: "so it's f***ing worth it."
The Resident Evil film is written and directed by Cregger, whose previous work includes the 2022 horror hit Barbarian. He describes Bryan as "an idiot who finds himself in a horrifying situation and is just trying to survive" — an everyman burdened with a mission that takes him into the heart of everything. Cregger has compared Bryan's journey to Frodo heading into Mordor, likening the story's scope to The Lord of the Rings. He says the entire film feels like one gigantic sequence, with things "popping off" about five minutes in and never letting up.
What makes the sequence stand out is the commitment to doing it for real. Dropping 150-pound blood bags from cranes is not a common filmmaking technique, and the near-miss involving Abrams underscores how fine the line was between a practical effect and a serious on-set incident. The Resident Evil franchise has seen that line crossed before — a crew member on Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was killed from injuries sustained during an on-set accident.
The film is expected to have the biggest opening of any Resident Evil movie, a series that has grossed over US$1 billion worldwide across six previous entries. It releases on September 18.
