Sony’s Resident Evil Reboot Victory: A New Hope or Another Undead Disaster?

The saga of Resident Evil on the silver screen is a tale as old as time—or at least as old as 2002, when Sony first unleashed Milla Jovovich’s Alice on an unsuspecting world. Fast forward to March 2025, and the latest chapter in this zombie-laden franchise has just unfolded: Sony has emerged victorious in a fierce bidding war for the Resident Evil movie reboot, beating out heavyweights like Warner Bros and Netflix. The studio that brought us six critically panned yet inexplicably lucrative films—plus the equally lackluster Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City in 2021—has once again secured the rights to Capcom’s iconic survival horror series. With a release date already set for September 18, 2026, and horror darling Zach Cregger (Barbarian) tapped to write and direct, the question looms large: can Sony finally deliver a Resident Evil film that doesn’t leave fans groaning louder than the zombies on screen?

(Image credit: Sony/CTMG)

Let’s rewind the tape a bit. The Resident Evil film franchise, born from the ashes of Capcom’s groundbreaking video game series, has been a paradox from the start. Spanning six films starring Jovovich and helmed largely by Paul W.S. Anderson, the series raked in a staggering $1.2 billion at the box office. That’s billion with a “B”—a number that would make any studio exec salivate, even if every single entry scored a measly 38% or lower on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics called them loud, mindless, and cheesy, while fans of the games often lamented the loose adaptations that traded the slow-burn terror of the original titles for action-packed schlock. Then came 2021’s Welcome to Raccoon City, a reboot sans Jovovich that promised a return to the games’ roots but stumbled with a paltry $42 million haul and mixed reviews. So why, you might ask, is Sony doubling down on this undead horse? The answer is as simple as it is maddening: money talks, and Resident Evil still has a pulse.

This time, though, there’s a twist in the tale. The reboot isn’t just another roll of the dice—it’s being shepherded by Zach Cregger, a name that’s been lighting up the horror scene since his 2022 sleeper hit Barbarian shocked audiences with its grisly ingenuity. Cregger’s involvement sparked the bidding frenzy in the first place, with studios clamoring to pair his fresh vision with a franchise that’s proven it can print cash, critical flops be damned. According to reports, Warner Bros and Netflix were hot on the trail, but Sony flexed its historical muscle—after all, this is the studio that’s been churning out Resident Evil movies since the PlayStation 2 era. The deal landed under Sony’s Columbia Pictures banner, a shift from the lower-budget Screen Gems label that housed the earlier films. Columbia’s resume includes big-budget swings like Venom and Morbius—films that, while not critical darlings, had the cash to splash on spectacle. Could this mean a beefier budget for Cregger’s vision? Fans can only hope.

But what exactly are we hoping for? The promise, as teased in early reports, is a reboot that “takes the title back to its horror roots and stays faithful to the initial games.” It’s a line that’s been dangled before—Welcome to Raccoon City made similar claims, only to falter under a tight budget and a script that mashed together Resident Evil 1 and 2 with uneven results. Cregger, however, brings a different pedigree. Barbarian wasn’t just a gorefest; it was a masterclass in tension, subversion, and atmosphere—qualities that echo the eerie halls of the Spencer Mansion or the zombie-infested Raccoon City Police Department from the original games. If anyone can resurrect the dread and mystery that made Resident Evil a household name in 1996, it might just be him.

Still, the elephant in the room—or rather, the shambling corpse—remains Sony’s track record. Six films with Jovovich turned the series into a punchline for gamers who craved the slow, puzzle-driven horror of the source material over laser grids and slow-motion kicks. Welcome to Raccoon City tried to course-correct, bringing in fan-favorite characters like Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy, but its execution left many cold. On X, fans have been vocal: “Sony’s just gonna mess it up again,” one user griped, while another quipped, “Eighth time’s the charm, right?” The skepticism is palpable, and it’s not hard to see why. When a franchise has grossed over a billion dollars yet never cracked a 40% approval rating, it’s fair to wonder if the studio knows what “good” even looks like.

Yet there’s a flicker of optimism amid the cynicism. Cregger’s not alone in this endeavor—he’s co-writing with Shay Hatten, whose credits include John Wick: Chapter 4 and Army of the Dead. That’s a combo that could blend visceral action with the horror chops Resident Evil desperately needs. Plus, Constantin Film and PlayStation Productions are on board, suggesting a closer tie to the games’ legacy than ever before. Imagine a film that captures the creeping dread of unlocking a new room with a crested key, the jolt of a Crimson Head lurching to life, or the quiet despair of Raccoon City’s fall—all rendered with a budget that doesn’t skimp on the gooey details. It’s a tantalizing prospect, one that could finally silence the naysayers.

Of course, the devil’s in the details—or rather, the lack thereof. As of now, there’s no script, no cast, just a release date and a prayer. September 18, 2026, feels like a lifetime away, and the road to a successful reboot is littered with pitfalls. Will Sony let Cregger run wild with his vision, or will studio meddling turn this into another action-heavy misfire? Will the budget match the ambition, or are we in for another underfunded disappointment? And perhaps most crucially, can Sony shake off its reputation as the studio that turned a survival horror classic into a punching bag for critics?

For now, the Resident Evil faithful are left to speculate and hope. The franchise’s $1.2 billion legacy proves it’s got staying power, even if it’s been more about box office muscle than artistic merit. Cregger’s involvement offers a glimmer of something new—a chance to trade explosions for atmosphere, to swap mindless zombies for the calculated terror of the games. Whether Sony can rise from the ashes of its own cinematic graveyard remains to be seen. Until that fateful September day in 2026, fans will keep their shotguns loaded and their expectations cautious, praying this reboot doesn’t end up as just another rotting corpse in the Resident Evil saga.