Heading into CinemaCon, there were rumors that Zach Cregger was attending the event in Las Vegas to debut some footage from his upcoming “Resident Evil” film. Those rumors turned out to be true.
Newsweek was invited to cover Sony’s showcase at the Dolby Colosseum in Caesars Palace. The event showed off new footage from huge movies like “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,” “Jumanji: Open World” and much more.
However, there was particular interest in the new “Resident Evil” film. It remains one of the biggest brands in gaming, but Hollywood hasn’t been able to figure out how to make a quality film using the IP.
Cregger, who is coming off the smash hit “Weapons,” took the stage at CinemaCon to express his love for the “Resident Evil” franchise.
During his brief speech, he revealed that he has sunk an “embarrassing” amount of hours into the games. He also noted that while there aren’t specific storylines or characters from the games that will be featured in his film, he reiterated that the film will be true to the spirit of the games. He said that fans of the franchise should find plenty to enjoy, but it will also be digestible for people who don’t play the games.
After that, he introduced the teaser, and we’re going to go through what we saw. Beware, some fans who want to go in blind when the first trailer drops everywhere might not want to know all the details.
The trailer starts with Austin Abrams’ character traversing through the snow toward a creepy house. He walks into the house, which has colorful wallpaper and decorations all over the walls. He looks around, but there doesn’t appear to be anybody there. He finds a phone and tries to make a call, and the voiceover plays through the rest of the trailer.
Action starts to happen, and we see Abrams’ character searching through drawers, trying to find supplies. He runs to the barn and brandishes a double-barreled shotgun, which is, of course, empty. One shot that stands out is the house’s front door being open, but it’s a black void inside. Many arms start to emerge from the door, and it looks like they could all belong to one monster.
Another set piece shows Abrams falling into a sewer after being chased by zombies and running into a morbidly obese monster with pale skin. It’s a brief teaser, but that’s the gist of what we saw. Based on the teaser, it looks like Cregger’s “Resident Evil” film will be a fast-paced ride filled to the brim with creepy imagery.
Newsweek's reporters and editors used Martyn, our Al assistant, to help produce this story. Learn more about Martyn.