Resident Evil Director Says Fan Backlash Caught Him Off Guard
Zach Cregger says he should have seen the fan backlash coming. The director of the new Resident Evil film said the online conversation around it frustrated him, because much of it had nothing to do with the movie he made.
Speaking on The Town, a podcast hosted by Matt Belloni, Cregger said he became "frustrated at the conversation," according to GameSpot, which reported the interview on 2 November 2026. He said, "I should have known better," and added that he should have understood the backlash was going to happen. He also said he loves the film and is proud of it.
The movie is based on the Resident Evil video game series, but it does not follow the games' storylines or characters. Its story is original and set in the world of the games. For some fans of the games, that choice was the source of the complaints.
Box office is also going well. Puck reported on 30 October 2026 that the film was about to reach US$400 million in worldwide ticket sales.
The film's path to cinemas has been public for some time. In August 2025, Cregger told Puck by Zoom that he was in Prague preparing a Resident Evil reboot. In September 2026, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the film tested better with audiences once Cregger removed the jokes. The same outlet later spoke to actor Austin Abrams about the ending.
The Town conversation covers more than this one film. Cregger discusses his move from comedy to horror, which he also made with Barbarian and Weapons. He talks about working with existing intellectual property (IP), meaning established characters and stories, compared with original material. He also describes pitching actor Jennifer Lawrence and how he views studio executives.
For fans who expected a faithful retelling of a game, the film's original story is the main point of difference. For Cregger, the disagreement is about what the movie was meant to be, and he says he did not anticipate how strongly it would be debated.
