Next year, Resident Evil will be shuffling back to theaters with a new reboot movie from Barbarian director Zach Cregger. Now, Resident Evil’s big-screen comeback may have its first star.
Deadline is reporting that Austin Abrams is in early negotiations to star in the new Resident Evil. Abrams is perhaps best-known for playing Ethan Lewis on HBO’s Euphoria as well as the Kid in Apple TV+’s original film Wolfs. Abrams previously worked with Cregger on the director’s sci-fi/horror film Weapons, which has yet to release. The actor is also set to star in Whalefall, which follows a diver who is accidentally swallowed by a sperm whale.
There’s currently no word about which character Abrams will play in the Resident Evil film. Assuming that the the movie will be based on the early games, that could mean he’d be portraying Chris Redfield or Leon Kennedy. If the film is based on anything after Resident Evil 7, then perhaps Abrams could step into the role of Ethan Winters.
Sony and Constantin Film have yet to share any specific details about the next Resident Evil, except to tease that it’s “a revamp that will take the title to its horror roots and be more faithful to the initial games.”
The first six Resident Evil movies were directed or produced by Paul W.S. Anderson, with Milla Jovovich in the lead as an original character named Alice. The 2021 reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, attempted to cram the events of the first two games into a single movie. However, audiences failed to respond to it and Welcome to Raccoon City only grossed $42 million worldwide.
Sony recently set September 18 as the release date for the new Resident Evil. Earlier this month, Resident Evil 5 was rated for a new console, but it has yet to be officially announced by Capcom.
