Weapons Director on Why His Resident Evil Movie Won’t Have Leon & Other Game Characters

As fans eagerly wait for the upcoming Resident Evil movie, Zach Cregger, who will be helming the horror film reboot, has now shared a major update about the leading characters of his film. The Weapons director revealed in a recent interview that his big-screen adaptation of the fan-favorite video game franchise will convey an original story without any characters from the Capcom games.

Zach Cregger reveals his Resident Evil movie won’t focus on Leon S Kennedy

While speaking with Inverse, Zach Cregger noted that even though his Resident Evil reboot will utilize the game’s rich lore, the plot of the movie will strictly take place “outside of the characters of the games.” He emphasized that the film won’t center around the escapades of Leon Scott Kennedy, who has appeared in 11 Resident Evil games, including two remakes, so far.

“It is obedient to the lore of the games, it’s just a different story,” the Weapons director explained before stating, “I’m not going to tell Leon’s story, because Leon’s story is told in the games. [Fans] already have that.”

Cregger defended his creative decision about not including original Resident Evil game characters in his film by saying, “This is not breaking the rules of the games. I am the biggest worshiper of the games, so I’m telling a story that is a love letter to the games and follows the rules of the games.”

He then provided a but blunt answer to fans who were expecting to see Leon lead the new Resident Evil flick by simply noting, “They can play the game.” Cregger had previously stated that he expects backlash from the audience upon the release of his film, irrespective of its quality. However, he still remains hopeful that fans will be happy with the final product.

The new Resident Evil film is currently on track to hit theaters on September 18, 2026.

Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on SuperHeroHype.