Zach Cregger unleashes X-rated response to Resident Evil critics ahead of September 2026 release

They say that third time's the charm, and when it comes to Zach Cregger's upcoming Resident Evil, we sure hope it's the case. Resident Evil movies are nothing new, but after six Milla Jovovich-led movies of diminishing quality, and whatever Johannes Roberts' Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City was, it seems this is one tough nut to crack.

After cutting his teeth on Barbarian and hitting the mainstream with Weapons, can Zach Cregger really turn things around?

While the first two trailers continue to divide that ever-cranky Resident Evil fandom, it doesn't sound like Cregger is letting the haters get to him.

Zach Cregger isn't sweating the small stuff in Resident Evil

The latest trailer for Resident Evil has just dropped, once again honing in on Weapons star Austin Abrams, who plays a medical courier called Bryan. While we imagine the trailers are hiding a lot, it's clear Bryan gets caught in the midst of the Raccoon City outbreak, with the T-Virus unleashing zombies and B.O.W.s alike onto the world.

There were already some complaints that Resident Evil has a snowy backdrop despite the fact the Raccoon City incident occurred in September 1998, with internet nerds now taking issue with the fact Bryan is using a modern iPhone.

Reminding us of The Simpsons' "boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder" moment, it seems Cregger isn't too fussed about satisfying a vocal minority of critics.

Discussing all things Resi at San Diego Comic-Con, Cregger said: "This movie doesn't take place in the '90s, when Resident Evil 2 came out. And it does take place in the snow, it takes place in the snow in 2026, that's why he has an iPhone.

"Because I took liberties to tell a story I wanted to tell and make the movie look the way I wanted it to look."

Reiterating that he is not doing a retelling of RE2, a passionate Cregger vented: "There are differences between this movie and the game...I don't think it makes the movie any worse, I think it looks really f**king cool to have a horror movie set in the snow."

Arguing that we don't get enough snow-covered horror movies, Cregger got a rapturous cheer from the crowd, but others still aren't convinced.

Angry fans dashed to the comments, with one raging: "So basically it's a horror film that got nothing to do with Resident Evil apart from some names and references so they can use the title....might as well have just called it some other generic Zombie film name."

Another accused him of flip-flopping as they added: "WTF???!!! Did he just change his story again? He said it was 1998 and 2 weeks before Leon got to Raccoon City. What total bullsh*t. I've counted up to 6 changes in his story already. He's a director with no dignity."

READ MORE: Resident Evil Director's Leon Kennedy Cozy Game Is The Spin-Off We All Need

The sordid saga of Resident Evil movies

If you don't count the OG Resident Evil's live-action opening (we don't), Paul W.S. Anderson's 2002 movie was our first take on bringing the Resiverse to life out of the games. In some alternate reality, the first Resident Evil movie was going to be helmed by the legendary George A. Romero, but sadly, we'll never get to see some mythical Night of the Living T-Virus.

Anderson took a gamble by largely abandoning the lore of the games for the first movie, instead pivoting to Jovovich's Alice as a brand-new creation for the movies.

Later entries would dabble with characters like Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) and Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller), but as the franchise went on and fans of the games became more disappointed, it was clear Anderson was telling his own story.

There were high hopes that Roberts could deliver what we really wanted in Welcome to Raccoon City, but mashing together the first two games, and with a cast of actors that simply felt a bit 'off', it was a critical and commercial bonfire.

All of this is before we get to Netflix's short-lived live-action Resident Evil TV series, but to be honest, we haven't got the energy to go into what went wrong there.

Instead, the Resiverse has largely been carried on the shoulders of animated outings like the superb Resident Evil: Damnation and Resident Evil: Death Island.

Cregger has some task ahead of him in terms of telling a story that can appease gaming fans and newbies alike, which is why his plans to set it running parallel (but not in the same time period?) to the games could really work in his favour.

There's no denying that hype is high ahead of Resident Evil's September 18 release, but as we've all been burned before, we'll try to temper our expectations.