Resident Evil Director Zach Cregger Reveals Star Austin Abrams Almost Died Shooting That Zombie Scene From the Trailer

Zach Cregger has revealed caller details connected the making of the upcoming Resident Evil movie, including a country wherever prima Austin Abrams astir died from a falling zombie.

The Barbarian and Weapons creator spoke astatine a Resident Evil footage screening and Q&A, attended by IGN. There helium discussed a country successful which main quality Bryan, a aesculapian courier played by Weapons prima Austin Abrams, runs down a thoroughfare arsenic zombies leap down from the extortion of buildings connected either side. We spot this country concisely successful the Resident Evil trailer, below.

During the Q&A, Cregger described however this was shot, and the adjacent miss that mightiness person really killed the movie’s star.

“We had to fundamentally plan this happening wherever he’s conscionable moving and bodies are conscionable falling and detonating each astir him. I knew I didn’t privation to bash it with VFX due to the fact that I felt similar it would conscionable look similar VFX. So I was like, however bash we bash this wherever each these explosions are real?

“And the mode to bash it is to get a clump of cranes and you person each these body-sized humor bags, and you rehearse the s**t retired of however they’re going to autumn and past however accelerated he’s going to run. And past you conscionable sprout it and you pursuit him successful the camera car. And he’s moving and they’re releasing these bags and they're falling and hitting each astir him and exploding.

“And 1 triggered excessively aboriginal and it missed him by inches. And these things are each similar 150 pounds. It would’ve killed him. If helium had been similar 1 measurement to the right, helium would person died. And it’s successful the movie, truthful it’s f***ing worthy it. I was like, beauteous stoked! I was like, ‘Oh, could we bash that again?’ They’re like, ‘No we can’t bash that again, helium astir died!”

Austin Abrams had a adjacent miss portion filming Resident Evil.

If that wasn't capable to marque Cregger deliberation twice, during the shooting of different scene, which took spot successful the Czech Republic successful the dormant of night, helium had a infinitesimal of genuine existential crisis.

"He goes to this workplace and the archetypal happening that happens is, helium gets chased and attacked by a dog. And I’m retired successful the mediate of nowhere, it’s freezing cold, I americium wrangling a psycho canine to effort and bash what I privation it to do,” helium said.

“Working with animals is hard. And this happening was f***ing terrifying. And I was sick. And it was conscionable 1 of those things wherever it was conscionable like… I’d been nocturnal for months making a movie that takes spot astatine night, and I'd conscionable tally retired of gas. And I conscionable retrieve thinking, I would alternatively beryllium anyplace successful the satellite but present successful the freezing acold trying to get this canine to bash what I privation it to do.

“But, you know, I deliberation everyone who makes a movie astir apt has a infinitesimal similar that.”

Cregger has antecedently described his instrumentality connected Resident Evil arsenic "one gigantic sequence" that follows its regular feline protagonist Bryan arsenic helium undertakes a perilous travel "like Frodo going into Mordor." It deliberately avoids featuring characters from Capcom's beloved endurance fearfulness series, which means nary Leon oregon Claire turning up to prevention the day. Bryan is the antithesis of the gun-toting, combat-tested characters who often are the protagonists of Resident Evil games.

Cregger has besides spoken successful the past astir the absorption from immoderate Resident Evil fans who had hoped to spot a movie based connected 1 of the games itself, oregon diagnostic characters from the video games. "There’s truthful galore radical that intelligibly truly privation the video game, meaning the characters and communicative from the video game, and thing antithetic than that is truly not welcomed," helium said successful the aftermath of the trailer's release. "I didn’t recognize however passionate immoderate radical were astir that."

During the Q&A helium explained wherefore Leon, for example, isn't successful the movie, insisting the video games archer the characters' stories amended that helium would. "I conscionable wanted to marque a movie that would observe everything I deliberation makes those games truthful special," Cregger said, "but not cannibalize the stories that those games archer truthful well. Because I don't deliberation I tin archer Leon’s communicative amended than the games archer Leon's story. That feels to maine similar benignant of a losing endeavor.

"But to archer a communicative that lives successful the satellite of Raccoon City, connected the eve of the outbreak, and play by the rules where, similar the Umbrella Corporation, the T-virus and each those things are there, but this communicative conscionable benignant of happens implicit here, that feels similar a truly fertile spot to live."

Cregger's Resident Evil hits theaters September 18, 2026.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].