Resident Evil Movie May Have Just Cast Its Leon Kennedy

Zach Cregger’s upcoming Resident Evil movie may have just cast an actor to play Leon Kennedy. We’ve been in a golden age of video game adaptations recently with things like The Last of Us, Fallout, Twisted Metal, and even less traditional adaptations like Gran Turismo. It’s been something gamers have longed for as video game adaptations have been unfathomably bad for decades. While there was the occasional gem, Hollywood seems to understand that being faithful to what made the games good in the first place is a better idea than just retool it so it can be more accessible to mainstream audiences.

Resident Evil has had numerous live-action adaptations already and while some of them aren’t too bad, they have squandered their potential and left a lot to be desired. Thankfully, Barbarian director Zach Cregger will adapt Resident Evil next and will likely do a killer job. On top of Barbarian being one of the best, most original horror movie in years, his next movie, Weapons, is getting rave reviews from early test screenings and even got pushed up to an August 2025 release after being previously slated for early 2026. That imminent release will free Cregger up to go shoot Resident Evil, thankfully. While details are scarce on what game(s) he’s adapting or what the story will be, Cregger has stated he’s a huge fan of the games and his script is expected to be faithful to the series.

Resident Evil Movie May Have Cast Austin Abrams as Leon Kennedy

With that said, the first piece of casting news for the film has come out. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Zach Cregger has reportedly hand picked Euphoria actor Austin Abrams to star in Resident Evil and a deal is in the works. The report neglected to mention who he is playing, but one glance at him makes it feel pretty obvious. Abrams is a younger actor with a head of thick, blonde hair, which makes him a dead ringer for Leon Kennedy. ComicBook.com had even predicted Austin Abrams would be Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil about a week ago. It seems like it’s going to come to fruition as Abrams doesn’t really fit Chris Redfield, the other notable male Resident Evil hero.

Of course, Abrams could also play a brand new character, but that seems unlikely. The report also notes that Resident Evil is eyeing a summer shoot in Europe, so more casting news is likely imminent. At the moment, Resident Evil is slated to release in September 2026, so it’s full steam ahead on the project right now. The Hollywood Reported claims that sources say the film will also have “wilderness survival thriller” elements as well. It’s possible that this game will adapt something like Resident Evil 4 which takes place in a remote village buried deep in the wilderness in Spain… making it align nicely with where the film is being shot.

More casting announcements will likely clue us in as to what game Cregger is adapting for Resident Evil. If he casts a young blonde woman with bangs or someone that could credibly resemble Ashley, it’s likely Resident Evil 4. However, it could also be a whole new story or a movie that mashes multiple games together. We’ll just have to wait and see, but it’s exciting to see such a big adaptation of a beloved series like this.