Although it was strange to hear that Zach Cregger’s upcoming Resident Evil reboot was compared to an acclaimed 2015 action movie after test screenings, the arrival of its CinemaCon footage makes sense of these comparisons. 2026’s Resident Evil reboot is set to change a lot of the video game franchise’s existing lore, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Admittedly, Paul WS Anderson’s earlier Resident Evil movies infamously altered a lot of details from the source games, but Cregger has the success of Barbarian and the Oscar-winning horror movie Weapons under his belt.
If anyone deserves to take a fresh crack at the franchise, it is this visionary horror director, even if viewers from test screenings sparked controversy by comparing the movie to a horror version of 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. While that acclaimed reboot was beloved by critics and audiences alike, it was hard to imagine how the survival horror video game franchise could end up feeling akin to director George Miller’s high-octane post-apocalyptic chase movie. However, CinemaCon footage of Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot proves that these comparisons are apt, but not at the expense of the franchise’s famously terrifying horror elements.
Footage descriptions from CinemaCon were almost entirely positive, with viewers agreeing that Cregger managed to blend the action-packed chase elements of Mad Max: Fury Road with the raw, gripping horror of the Resident Evil games. The clip that audiences saw introduced Austin Abrams’ central character Bryan, a harried medical courier who seeks refuge in a snowy cabin after a car crash. After a tragic phone call with Bryan’s love interest, the footage cuts to imagery of terrifying creatures and monstrous zombies jumping from rooftops to pursue the movie’s protagonist.
With a supporting cast that includes Paul Walter Hauser, Kali Reis, and Zach Cherry, Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot won’t be a one-man show for Wolfs‘ breakout star Abrams. However, the early footage from CinemaCon seemingly grounds the action in Bryan’s immediate experience, much like Mad Max: Fury Road starts with an intense, unrelenting chase sequence from the POV of Tom Hardy’s titular antihero as he tries and fails to evade the War Boys. Like Mad Max: Fury Road, Cregger’s reboot looks set to lean into the main character’s perspective throughout its terrifying story.
The most exciting part of Resident Evil 2026’s comparisons to Mad Max: Fury Road is the implication that the movie will be just as ruthless, brutal, and unrelenting as Miller’s masterpiece. Much of what makes Mad Max: Fury Road such an impressive piece of cinema is the sheer audacity of its chase narrative, which never slows down for more than a few moments throughout the movie’s runtime, but still manages to tell a compelling, emotionally engaging story with well-drawn characters and a resonant arc.
Since Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot comes from one of the John Wick franchise’s screenwriter Shay Hatten, it would be entirely fair for viewers to worry about the movie prioritising action over scares. Fortunately, when early viewers compared Cregger’s reboot to Miller’s iconic action classic, this isn’t what they meant. Instead, the CinemaCon footage proves that Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot is a lot like Mad Max: Fury Road—But much, much bloodier and scarier.
