Resident Evil Director Zach Cregger Gave Austin Abrams Three Iconic Movie Heroes To Emulate

After delivering two incredible horror movies in a row with "Barbarian" and "Weapons" (a film that even non-horror movie fans should see), Zach Cregger is bringing the best horror video game franchise of all time back to the screen with "Resident Evil." One of most anticipated horror movies of 2026, the film adapts a property that began with a simple zombie-centric premise, yet it's since expanded to include a vast and complex mythology featuring all sorts of other monsters.

As it stands, it's already clear that Cregger understands the true appeal of the best "Resident Evil" games. Far from a beat-for-beat copy of one of the games, the film tells a brand-new story that goes back to the franchise's foundation: a horrifying tale of a lone survivor with low resources battling a whole lot of creep-tastic foes. In other words, the movie's lead, Bryan (Austin Abrams), may end up spending more time scrambling to find bullets than guns.

Speaking during the Q&A section of a press event attended by /Film's Bill Bria (one where 20 minutes of "Resident Evil" was screened), Cregger revealed that he gave Abrams three specific movie protagonists to emulate for his role: Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) from "Home Alone," John McClane (Bruce Willis) from "Die Hard," and Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) from "Back to the Future." As Cregger put it:

"It's kind of obvious how it works. It's, like, we would huddle up and there'd be a scene and be like, 'Do you think that's more McClane or McFly here?' And I was like, 'You're McFly here. Most of the movie you're McFly.' [Bryan is] just, like, 'I don't know what to do.' That's [his] baseline. And every once in a while [he gets] to do something badass, and [he's] John McClane from 'Die Hard.'"

According to Zach Cregger, there were times during the making of "Resident Evil" where he'd tell Austin Abrams, "You're a total little b***h, and you're Kevin McCallister."

"So, we would always be like, 'Is this the McCallister or McFly? Is this McClane?' So, that was fun for us," he added.

Sure, comparing a cute kid like Kevin McCallister to a gritty action hero like John McClane might seem a bit far-fetched at first glance. And yet, it all makes perfect sense. Both characters are very much known for their ability to improvise and survive an impossible situation with whatever scraps they can find. To be sure, Kevin booby-traps buildings to fend off thieves in a fashion that would make Jigsaw proud. That, after all, is the spirit of the "Resident Evil" games, where you have to survive on just a handful of bullets, an easily-broken knife, and, sometimes, a rocket launcher while facing hundreds of zombies.

As for Marty McFly, his charisma and scrappy yet sarcastic attitude is what allows him to stand up to bullies significantly taller and bigger than him while still defeating them. That is also very much in the spirit of a true "Resident Evil" player — one who rushes into a new area in a game, only to find a zombie force much bigger than they can handle, forcing them to scramble on their way to the next saving point.

A "Resident Evil" movie that somehow captures the essence of these three movie heroes, together with the early reports of positive test screening reactions, are enough to get us extremely hyped for Cregger's film. We'll see if it can meet those expectations when it reaches theaters on September 18, 2026.