Today’s tense new Resident Evil movie trailer provides our best look yet at Zach Cregger’s survival horror adaptation — including a couple more Easter eggs for fans of the games.
Weapons director Cregger has previously confirmed that his big screen Resident Evil adaptation will stand separate to the games, with familiar characters and plot points left to Capcom’s original creations. Instead, his Resident Evil movie will follow its own story and lead character — even if the film will still be littered with references for Resident Evil veterans to appreciate.
Today’s trailer includes two more of these, which are not too difficult to spot. But if you haven’t watched it yet, here it is to enjoy:
The most obvious Easter egg here is the lingering shot of a typewriter, sitting on a desk in a quiet room. Typewriters are, of course, the Resident Evil game series’ typical save mechanic — while the rooms that house them are generally deemed safe from threat. We’ll have to see if that holds as true in the movie, but the placement and design of the typewriter here is unmistakably a reference.
Shortly after this, fans will spot a second Easter egg, as lead character Bryan (played by Austin Abrams) scrabbles around in a drawer for ammo. Cregger has previously commented on the fact that this scrounging for supplies is a reference to Capcom’s games in itself — as players are rewarded for opening every drawer/cabinet/crate in the hunt for resources. Here in the trailer, though, there’s a far more oblique reference: the shotgun shells on offer are clearly the same brand as the one seen in Resident Evil 4.
These Easter eggs follow several more references seen in the movie’s first trailer — which Cregger himself pointed out to IGN as part of an exclusive trailer breakdown video. These included a familiar-looking green herb, plus hints at other sequences from the film we’re yet to see.
Impressed by how it’s looking? Initial reaction to film from some fans featured notable criticism that the movie looked less like a Resident Evil adaptation, and more like a 28 Days Later spinoff. Others, however, praised the fact that Cregger was not rehashing a story that we’ve all seen previously — and as recently as 2021’s poorly-received Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City reboot. Today’s look is even more convincing, I feel, with a growing sense of tension, and a better look at Abrams’ character as the world around him descends into a zombie apocalypse.
Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie is due to land in theaters on September 18, and we have much more on the film right here on IGN — such as how the director almost killed Abrams in a stunt that’s still in the finished movie.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
