The new Resident Evil movie will bring action to the first person

The new Resident Evil movie, directed by Zach Cregger, will incorporate first-person sequences and an explicit connection to Umbrella Corp. The story will present an alternative version of the zombie outbreak in Raccoon City, featuring snow, smartphones, and new characters.

• The trailer shows first-person shots with a pistol, a shotgun, and a zombie lunging towards the camera.
• A medical delivery document links the protagonist Bryan to Umbrella Corp.
• The film will hit theaters on September 18, 2026, and will present an original story within the Resident Evil universe.

The upcoming Resident Evil movie, directed by Zach Cregger, aims to connect with fans of the franchise through a staging directly inspired by its video games. The official trailer showcases brief first-person sequences, with a double-barreled shotgun and a pistol taking center stage, as a zombie lunges at the character and the camera. The film is set to be released in theaters on September 18, 2026.

The images suggest that the production will not only use the franchise's name but will also recreate recognizable elements of its gameplay language. In one shot, a character presumably named Bryan, played by Austin Abrams, cautiously moves through a house while holding a shotgun; in another, the viewer sees the hands of someone wielding a pistol in front of a zombie threat.

A first-person perspective

The trailer seems to pay homage to the way Resident Evil games build the player's sense of progression. The adventure often begins with a simple weapon and then allows access to more powerful armaments, an evolution that the film appears to translate into its cinematic experience without becoming a direct adaptation of a specific title.

The images seem to arrange their moments following this logic. Bryan's first confrontation would be with a zombie woman on the road, before the character seeks refuge in a nearby house and finds a double-barreled shotgun, a sequence that combines immediate survival with the recognition of a common mechanic for players.

The choice of first-person also reflects the franchise's transformation over time. The original game used fixed cameras that observed characters from predefined angles, while several recent installments adopted a subjective perspective to intensify isolation and tension.

This approach also aligns with the first-person perspective used in Resident Evil Requiem, a video game released on February 27, 2026. However, the shots in the movie function as a visual homage and do not confirm a direct adaptation of that game.

Umbrella appears in Bryan's documents

Another detail revealed by the production expands the story's connection to the Capcom universe. It is a document that records the delivery of a medical shipment intended for Bryan, an item reminiscent of the files and notes players often find to piece together the events behind each outbreak.

The document includes a particularly relevant reference: Bryan's shipping expenses are billed to Umbrella Corp. The company's presence is not a complete surprise, as the plot unfolds in Raccoon City during a zombie outbreak, but the record offers a concrete signal about the possible link between the protagonist and the corporation.

Still, the images do not allow us to determine how significant Umbrella will be in the storyline. The company could operate as a central force in the crisis or appear as part of the background connecting Bryan's work with the events transforming the city, a mystery that the promotional campaign has yet to resolve.

Using a document as a promotional piece also reinforces Cregger's intention to reproduce the exploratory atmosphere of the games. Instead of revealing the plot through a direct explanation, the production presents an everyday object that contains a corporate clue and allows the audience to interpret the dimension of Umbrella's involvement.

An Alternative Version of the Raccoon City Outbreak

The film will be set in Raccoon City during a major zombie outbreak, but it will not literally retake the most well-known stories or characters from the video games. Cregger has proposed an original story, with Bryan as the protagonist and its own continuity within the setting recognized by fans.

The most visible difference from the known canon lies in the environment and historical moment. While the games canonically place the outbreak in September 1998, the film presents snow-covered streets and a modern setting where characters use smartphones.

These changes point to an alternative universe of the zombie epidemic in Raccoon City. The decision allows for the preservation of essential elements, such as Umbrella, medical documents, weapons, and survival within threatening buildings, without forcing the film to repeat the events associated with the original installments.

That balance will be one of the main challenges of the adaptation. Fans expect recognizable signals from Capcom's material, but an exact copy would reduce the scope for developing new characters and conflicts; for now, the combination of playable tributes and an original story represents Cregger's central bet.

Causes of Recent Movements

Confirmed: The official trailer presents first-person sequences, the outbreak setting, and the documentary link with Umbrella Corp. These elements explain the promotional interest in the film, although they do not allow for attributing other plot details that have not yet been confirmed.

Plausible: The combination of weapons shown from the character's perspective and visual references to the video games may have sparked conversation among franchise followers. However, there is not enough information to identify an additional motive or a concrete impact beyond that promotional interest.

What the Audience Can Expect

The trailer offers more visual hints than definitive answers. The weapons placed in front of the camera suggest that the film will incorporate moments designed to evoke the player's perspective, while the zombie jumping towards the lens points to a more direct and physical horror experience.

Austin Abrams' participation as Bryan adds a new entry point to the Raccoon City setting. The character appears linked to a medical delivery and ends up facing a threat that forces him to seek refuge and use increasingly powerful resources, although the campaign has yet to detail his complete story.

The release in theaters on September 18, 2026, will allow audiences to see how the film utilizes its visual resources and whether the reference to the video games dominates the experience. It will also clarify whether Umbrella functions as a visible antagonist, as an institution responsible for the disaster, or simply as a narrative connection for the documents Bryan discovers.

Cregger, director of Weapons and Barbarian, will have to demonstrate that an adaptation can honor the codes of a franchise without getting trapped in its most well-known continuity. The response will depend on how he combines the fear of survival and investigative details with a story capable of standing on its own.

The movie Resident Evil will hit theaters on September 18, 2026. Its campaign has already made it clear that Umbrella, first-person sequences, and the outbreak in Raccoon City will be fundamental pieces of the proposal.