Zombies are once again coming back from the dead to take over movie theatres starting next year!
From “Resident Evil” receiving its redemption arc, to “Evil Dead” receiving a new director – here’s the latest and juiciest news on upcoming movies that you can sink your teeth into!
Sébastien Vaniček Carries On The Torch For New “Evil Dead” Movie
It’s common sense at this point that when you see a cursed book — you don’t open it. Unfortunately, some people just can’t help but let their curiosity get the better of them. Luckily for us, that means we get to enjoy a new movie, courtesy of Sam Raimi and his upcoming “Evil Dead” entry.
That’s right, the “Evil Dead” franchise is once again rising from the grave to wreak havoc on the living, this time with an entry titled “Evil Dead Burn”.
The news originated from a simple Instagram post – but not from Raimi. Rather, this post came from the French filmmaker Sébastien Vaniček. Known for his work in “Infested” (2023) and “Crocs” (2018), the relatively green filmmaker is appointed as this film’s director in what appears to be a Herculean task.
Despite this, you can still feel the energy from this director courtesy of his post, where he shares a photo of a movie clapper with the movie’s title and his name as its director, as well as a sneak peek of who the cameraman is.
In the post above, we can see one Philip Lozano, a veteran cinematographer known for his work on “District B13” (2004) and “Now You See Me” (2013), as the camera operator for the upcoming movie. Outside of the official announcement that shooting is now underway, we don’t know anything about “Evil Dead Burn,” not even if this entry will continue the story of “Evil Dead Rise” (2023) or any of the previous entries, for that matter. It is being produced by Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Lee Cronin, which might hint that it might be a separate entry, especially with Cronin staying in the producer’s chair.
However, we aren’t completely in the dark about “Evil Dead Burn.” We know Vaniček wrote the screenplay for the movie, alongside Florent Bernard. Furthermore, it will also include recognisable actors such as Hunter Doohan, Souheila Yacoub, Luciane Buchanan, and Tandi Wright. We can expect “Evil Dead Burn” to hit cinemas on 24th July, 2026.
Zach Cregger To Make “Resident Evil” Movie More Like The Games
Yes, we’ve all heard it before: some video games were never meant to be turned into movies. You can try, but you can only blame yourself when you set the expectations so high and the movie fails to meet them. No franchise was more of a victim of this than the hit zombie game “Resident Evil.” However, much like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” or “Sonic the Hedgehog”, all it needed was a fresh new visionary who’s willing to give the IP a try. And who is more worthy of this challenge than horror genre innovator and “Barbarian” director Zach Cregger?
Speaking with Comicbook.com, Cregger discussed his history with the franchise and how it affected his upcoming take. The director himself is a notable fan of the franchise, boasting that he has “played all of the games”, specifically the most popular one, “Resident Evil 4”. He is a dedicated enjoyer of Capcom’s zombie shooter and would like to take a crack at hopefully succeeding where others have failed.
In the interview, he notably stated that “I just want to tell a story that feels like it’s honouring the experience you get when you play the games.” Though Cregger has never seen a single adaptation of his beloved franchise, he seems to be extremely confident in the project, saying that “I think the movie is going to rip.” Then again, knowing how the movies went, he probably decided to save himself and the adapted franchise altogether by making a newer entry.
Naturally, as it is still in its early stages, we don’t know what game entry the movie will adapt or if it will be an entirely new and original story made for the big screen. Furthermore, Cregger has stressed that he will be loose when it comes to the Resident Evil lore, but will still do his best to create an authentic experience.
Comicbook.com has gone on to add that the film might focus more on the “outskirts of Racoon City,” suggesting that the movie will be either focusing on “Resident Evil 2” or “Resident Evil 3.” What we know for sure is that the adaptation is slated for an 18th September, 2026, release window.
Sources: Empire, Comicbook.com
