Another actor has joined Austin Abrams (“Weapons,” “The Walking Dead”) in Zach Cregger‘s high-profile turn to blockbuster IP filmmaking with his “Resident Evil” reboot, as Paul Walter Hauser has nabbed a part in the gestating video game movie based on the mega-popular Capcom horror franchise.
The casting update hails from Deadline, which revealed Hauser’s involvement. The actor/wrestler has been seen in various pics over the years with a minor role Spike Lee‘s “BlacKkKlansman,” leading Clint Eastwood‘s “Richard Jewel,” “Americana,” “The Naked Gun,” appearing in the Boston-set crime caper “The Instigators,” had a small role in Matt Shakman‘s “Fantastic Four” reboot as a Marvel villain, and will be seen next in Scott Cooper‘s “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.”
While not the first filmmaker you’d imagine would get into the world of video game IP movie adaptations, Cregger is coming off massive success with original twisty horror films “Barbarian” and “Weapons.” The latter ended up earning a solid $260 million, which is fantastic given the movie’s production budget was reportedly a modest $38 million.
Cregger co-wrote the “Resident Evil” script with Shay Hatten, known for his work in the “John Wick” franchise (last two installments and spinoff “Ballerina“), and has established zombie genre credibility after writing Zack Snyder‘s action-focused “Army of the Dead.”
Admittedly, Cregger has said he hasn’t watched the previous movies, which were mostly helmed by Paul W.S. Anderson (stepped away for the second and third movies, wasn’t involved with previous reboot attempts) and starred Milla Jovovich. However, it sounds like he has some ambitious visual inspiration, citing Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead 2“ and has enlisted the help of cinematographer Darius Wolski (“Prometheus,” “Alien: Covenant”) to shoot the pic.
Sony will be releasing “Resident Evil” on September 18, 2026, as we are expecting more actors to be named in the coming weeks.
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