Zach Cregger's Resident Evil is one of the biggest hits of the year, but a loud slice of the game's fanbase never warmed to a film that borrowed the world and left the games' storylines and characters behind. Cregger has now addressed that backlash head-on, and he is not blaming the fans for it.
Speaking on The Town, Cregger said he became "frustrated at the conversation" around his movie, specifically how it "didn't have anything to do with the movie." The complaint from hardcore fans was that the film did not live up to their standards, even though Cregger never set out to make a movie that tried to.
The director made clear he loves the film and is proud of it, but he admitted, "I should have known better" about how fans of the game series might react. "I should have understood that that was going to be the case," he said of the blowback, having previously conceded he was naive to think gamers would embrace him and his idea for a Resident Evil movie.
Cregger has also softened his stance on franchise filmmaking. He previously said he would never make another franchise movie after Resident Evil, but on the podcast he described his attitude now as "never say never," and he does not think the position will cost him work.
After Barbarian and Weapons, Cregger feels he is "playing with house money," and he approaches every project now as if it could be his last. "I'm going to swing for the f**king fences," he said. "I'm going to pour it all out to make this as good as I am capable of making it. And whatever happens, whether it makes a lot of money or no money, I just have to make sure I left it all on the court. And if that's the end, then I've had an amazing run."
The film itself is hardly a failure for anyone involved: it has surpassed $400 million at the global box office on strong reviews, with an original story set in the Resident Evil world and Austin Abrams leading the cast as Bryan. Constantin Film, which has held the screen rights since the '90s, had planned to put the franchise on ice after Welcome to Raccoon City flopped, until Cregger arrived with his pitch.
Cregger's next film as director is The Flood, a deep-space sci-fi movie starring Jennifer Lawrence that he says is his biggest-budget production yet — ahead of Resident Evil and its reported $75 million budget before marketing. He is also producing the Weapons spin-off Aunt Gladys, so whatever the backlash, house money is treating him well.
