‘Resident Evil’ Movie Won’t Adapt the Most Iconic Character for One Reason [Exclusive]

Director Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil adaptation is gearing up to hit theaters on Sep. 18, promising to be one of the boldest interpretations of the video game franchise yet. Past films based on the franchise from director Paul W.S. Anderson embraced the characters and story elements players loved, but took immense liberties with the source material. Cregger is taking a different approach, as he doesn’t intend to use any known characters from the vast number of entries in the game series. The director stated last year while speaking with Inverse that his film was looking “outside of the characters of the games,” specifically noting that “I’m not going to tell Leon’s story.”

While speaking with MovieWeb‘s Joe Deckelmeier at a screening of Resident Evil, Cregger finally revealed the specific reason he chose to avoid using Leon S. Kennedy in his franchise reboot, and it informs his whole process. The director has stated in the past that the lead character, Bryan (Austin Abrams), is meant to act like a game avatar to bring the audience into the experience of playing Resident Evil. Along with the recent screening, Cregger fleshed out his intent, adding:

“It’s not survival action; it’s survival horror. It’s like this slow creeping dread where you progress from set piece to set piece, and you always feel like you have maybe just enough to survive, but probably not. And that’s so portable into a movie. Just living in that world and abiding by that pacing and that tone feels so, so easy. You know, like making a movie is really hard, but it just feels like it’s right there. It’s in the games.”

Cregger’s decision to avoid using game characters bothered some fans of the franchise who were hoping to potentially see Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, or Leon S. Kennedy in another movie. However, the Weapons director believed adapting known characters and storylines was a battle he could never win. As much of a fan as Cregger is, he specifically notes, “I don’t think I can tell Leon’s story better than the games tell Leon’s story.”

“And so I just wanted to make a movie that would celebrate everything I think makes those games so special, but not cannibalize the stories that those games tell so well. Because I don’t think I can tell Leon’s story better than the games tell Leon’s story. That feels to me like kind of a losing endeavor. But to tell a story that lives in the world of Raccoon City, on the eve of the outbreak, and playing by the rules where the Umbrella Corporation, the T-virus, and all those things are there, but this story just kind of happens over here. That feels like a really fertile place to live.”

Leon was a police officer who survived the initial Raccoon City outbreak and has been embroiled in the story ever since. He has been featured in past live-action films, including Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), in which he was played by Johann Urb, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2020), where Avan Jogia portrayed him.

Cregger’s adaptation features a cast of original characters, each with a unique role and potential gameplay archetype. The trailers have also kept many of them out of sight, while the latest tease offered the first glimpse at Paul Walter Hauser’s mysterious role. Cregger’s Resident Evil movie is promising to be a bold thrill ride that has drawn comparisons to Mad Max: Fury Road. Still, even without glowing reviews, the movie may have a lot to prove to fans who were hoping to see beloved game characters, especially given the story’s reported proximity to the events of Resident Evil 2.