Resident Evil's Zach Cregger Reveals On-Set Moment That Could Have "Killed" Star

Published Jul 23, 2026, 6:54 PM EDT Jennifer is a TV and Movie News Editor at ScreenRant. She started her journey in entertainment media in 2022 when she first joined Valnet at CBR before coming to ScreenRant. Jennifer loves TV, especially science fiction. She also loves late-night talk shows, due to her insomnia. Alien: Earth is definitely one of her favorite shows, and she jumps on any chance she gets to write about it. Even on her days off, she will claim an Alien Earth article if one is available. Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon are two of her favorite late-night hosts, and Conan O'Brien before he left his show. Her Alien: Earth coverage for ScreenRant is by far the work that she is most proud of so far. She was initially a finance and political editor, but her passion for pop culture convinced her to transition into entertainment journalism. During her off time, she loves to binge-watch cooking shows such as Kitchen Nightmares. Jennifer also loves spending time with her daughter and cherishes every moment of it. Resident Evil's reboot is more deadly than it seems. Resident Evil is an upcoming horror reboot directed by Zach Cregger, who co-wrote the screenplay with Shay Hatten. The project serves as the second film reboot of the massive franchise. While the movie doesn't feature any characters from the popular Capcom video games, it takes place during the events of Resident Evil 2, in 1998. The iconic Resident Evil video game franchise prepares to return to the big screen. And the reboot's director has recently revealed in an interview with SlashFilm that one of the movie's practical stunts came dangerously close to a fatal disaster. He explained how the risky move was so bad that it could have "killed" one of the stars of the film, Austin Abrams. Cregger said that a scene featuring Abrams, who portrays the Resident Evil reboot's lead character, Bryan, running through a street while zombies launched themselves from rooftops included a ton of explosions and stunt falls. Instead of relying on CGI alone, the director decided to use practical effects to make the scene appear more realistic. It's in the trailer momentarily, but [Austin Abrams is] running down the street, and there's zombies on the roof of the buildings on either side, and they're all leaping at him. And so, we had to basically design this thing where he's just running and bodies are just falling and detonating all around him. And I knew I didn't want to do it with VFX because I feel like it would just look like VFX. So, I was like, 'How do we do this where all these explosions are real?' Cregger admitted that the process was risky from the very beginning and left almost no room for error. The director further elaborated, stating that if Abrams made even the slightest mistake, it could have had deadly consequences. He even went as far as to claim that if the actor took just a single step to the right, he would have died. However, despite the risks, he believes the risk paid off. He added that the scene made it to the final cut of the upcoming Resident Evil film. Cregger also said that he is especially proud of the movie as a whole and believed that the experience helped him grow as a filmmaker. It would've killed him. If he had been one step to the right, he would've died. [The shot is] in the movie, so it's f***ing worth it. I was pretty stunned [...] That's what's so great about making movies is you have this scene, you have this amazing idea in your head, and then you just have all these people help you realize that idea and immortalize it on the screen. And there's a real sense of teamwork and accomplishment. I'm very proud of this movie. I feel like I grew a lot making it, just as a filmmaker. The upcoming film adaptation of Resident Evil centers on a medical courier who gets trapped in Raccoon City as a deadly viral outbreak unleashes terrifying zombies and other creatures. The movie features a large ensemble cast, starring Zach Cherry (Dave), Kali Reis (Pauline), Johnno Wilson (Max), and Paul Walter Hauser (Carl), alongside Abrams. Cregger's Resident Evil will be released in theaters on September 18, 2026. Release Date September 18, 2026 Director Zach Cregger Writers Shay Hatten, Zach Cregger Producers Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Miri Yoon, Robert Kulzer, Roy Lee Franchise(s) Resident Evil