Why Resident Evil Movie Doesn’t Feature Familiar Characters

The new Resident Evil movie from Weapons and Barbarian director Zach Cregger does not feature characters from the games--why is that? Cregger said in a new interview that it would be "inorganic" for his movie "try to shoehorn" legacy characters from Capcom's series into his film because it's a "self-contained story." "I have to put the story first and foremost," he said told Empire magazine, as reported by GamesRadar . Cregger's Resident Evil movie tells an "entirely original story" that takes place in the Resident Evil universe. Some fans have questioned this approach, saying they'd rather see one of the game's stories adapted and for the film to feature popular characters like Leon Kennedy or Jill Valentine. That's not going to happen, though, and Cregger thinks fans of the game will be happy with what he creates. "When you watch it, you'll be like, 'This is very Zach.' It's just [that] it takes place in the Resident Evil world. I don't think fans of the games are gonna be bummed," he told Entertainment Weekly . The Resident Evil movie comes to theaters on September 18. It stars Austin Abrams as an " idiot" medical courier named Bryan who gets mixed up in a horrifying adventure that Cregger says is akin to The Lord of the Rings. “Not that he’s stupid, but he’s not your typical game character, with no combat skills whatsoever and completely inept at survival. Bryan is very much an everyman who happens to be burdened with this kind of sacred mission that’s going to take him into the heart of everything. It’s kind of like Frodo going into Mordor," he said.