Resident Evil movie director says he was not prepared for fan backlash

Primary Journalistic Dispatch & Direct Reporting

One of the hottest horror directors on the planet adapting the world's most popular scary video game series?

On paper Zach Cregger and Resident Evil are the perfect unholy alliance.

The film-maker was widely praised for his original, imaginative work on horror hits Weapons and Barbarian and is a long-time fan of the video game series.

In-Depth Developments & Factual Context

But in the lead-up to the film's release, Cregger's spent a lot of time defending himself against complaints he's cashing in on the Resident Evil name.

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, the director says he was "not prepared" for what came his way.

First launched in 1996 on the original Sony PlayStation by Japanese developer Capcom, Resident Evil was a sensation.

Industry Impact & Strategic Analysis

Rather than casting players as super-powered characters, as was the case with most video games in the 90s, it forced them to survive with limited resources.

Thanks to smart reinventions and remakes, the series has managed to stay relevant, selling a total of 213 million copies since its debut.

Some of its characters are among the most well-known in video games, and there are whole communities dedicated to discussing the lore of their universe.

Forward Outlook & Market Perspective

Cregger's Resident Evil follows the story of Bryan, an original character played by Austin Abrams who worked with the director on Weapons.

He's a courier who agrees to deliver a package to a hospital in Raccoon City - a key location from the games.

As Bryan makes his way to the drop-off, it becomes apparent he is caught in the middle of some sort of viral outbreak, with the infected becoming monstrous creatures.

When the first trailer appeared online, many users swamped comment sections to complain about what they'd seen.

Where were the beloved characters? The familiar monsters?

Cregger says he had little interest in simply retelling the story of the Resident Evil games, but that didn't seem to calm some fans.

Reporting synthesized and verified under Nexvoro.tech editorial guidelines. Full primary records referenced via Google News US Entertainment.