If you missed it, it was Austin Abrams you saw in the recent Resident Evil reboot trailer. Abrams is taking over the lead role as Bryan in the franchise’s eighth film, and he’s in the thick of it.
Zach Cregger, the director of Weapons, is behind this reboot, and he claims it to be a fresh story, with new characters and a more visceral survival-horror atmosphere that harks back to some of the franchise’s earliest roots. The upcoming Resident Evil movie is set to hit the theatres on September 18, 2026.
Austin Abrams gets the lead in the 2026 Resident Evil movie
While previous Resident Evil movies centered heavily on large casts or reintroduction of legacy characters, this reboot’s main protagonist will be played by Austin Abrams, a face you must have seen in Chemical Hearts, Euphoria, and Weapons. He will star in the role of a character named Bryan, a medical courier in the midst of a rapidly spreading, uncontrollable infection.
The supporting cast line-up includes Zach Cherry as the scientist Dave, Kali Reis as a former army official Pauline, Paul Walter Hauser as Carl and Johnno Wilson as Max. This set-up represents a change in the narrative. Bryan is not a trained operative; he’s just a regular person, making the terror more relatable for the viewers.
Clips from the film’s recently released trailer suggest much of the action is seen from his point of view, immersing the viewer right in the midst of the chaos. Director Zach Cregger focuses on a bare-bones survival horror aesthetic. But Bryan is not only battling monsters, but he’s also battling confusion, loneliness, and fear, some of the key themes of the movie.
Resident Evil: A completely new story
The 2026 Resident Evil reboot is surprising in what it doesn’t include. The film is not backed up by any of the familiar characters like Leon or Claire. Instead, it is offering up a new story set in the Resident Evil universe. That makes the character of Bryan, played by Austin Abrams, a major liability. Without established characters to fall back on, Bryan’s role must serve as the anchor for the narrative as well as the emotional connection with the audiences.
The idea is to bring us in contact with the familiar experience of the games, then drop straight into the horror with little explanation and no obvious solutions. In an interview with PlayStation Blog, Zach Cregger shared:
“Austin is very much like an avatar for me, or what I expect the average video game player would react if they were thrust into the game themselves. So he’s just a normal guy. He’s not particularly good at combat in any way, shape, or form. He’s athletic, but he’s not an athlete, he’s just a guy. He’s just a good natured, hapless dude who gets sucked into a nightmare. And so it was really fun to just think, how would I react authentically if I saw a mutant dog attack me? What would that gamut of emotion look like? And Austin’s just so fun to watch, he’s perfect for it.”
Abrams’ Bryan is the player stand-in: passive, defensive, and easily frightened. It’s a gamble, but also a chance to create something new. By avoiding substantial fan service, tension, atmosphere, and character horror can be explored beyond re-enacting specific scenes.
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Edited by Priscillah Mueni