Resident Evil’s original ending was somehow even darker, so Zach Cregger had to change it

*Warning: Spoilers ahead for Resident Evil*

If you’re looking for a happy resolution – or even just a dash of hope – you’re not going to get it from Resident Evil. But director Zach Cregger has revealed the original ending for his video game adaptation was somehow even more ruthless. 

Cregger’s film is a reboot of the Resident Evil films, and rather than casting Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield from the Capcom horror games, this story centres on a brand new character. As the filmmaker explained, he didn’t simply want to retell a story fans had already played. 

This adaptation follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier who is tasked with delivering a package to Raccoon City General Hospital in the snowy Colorado mountains, only to find himself caught in the middle of a zombie virus outbreak. 

The underlying message is Bryan’s fear of change. While on the job, he speaks on the phone with his girlfriend Michelle, and we soon find out that she’s pregnant. Bryan makes it clear he’s not ready to be a father, ultimately throwing the decision back to her before his signal cuts out. 

Before they can continue their conversation, Bryan gets thrown right in the deep end of the outbreak, grappling with rabid pedestrians, being chased down by a tentacle-faced dog, and having to rescue a girl who is slowly transforming after being bitten by her mum. As the virus takes over, Bryan shoots the girl point blank in the head, but not before she manages to bite his arm. 

Once back on the road, he’s stalked by an amalgamation monster – as Cregger described it, it’s like a human tumbleweed – only to get rescued by two members of the Umbrella Corporation.

They explain that a lab accident caused the outbreak, and Bryan’s package isn’t an organ like he’d thought – it’s actually a neutralising base they need to complete the cure. But when they get to Racoon City, the scientists are killed by an amalgamation, leaving Bryan to deliver the package alone. 

On the way to the hospital, plenty more chaos ensues, from raining zombies to stomach-bursting mutant rats. And to make matters worse, remember that bite? It’s slowly taking over Bryan. 

As he realises his condition is worsening, Bryan records an emotional message for Michelle, saying, “Whatever you decide to do and whatever happens tonight, I just… I think you’d be an amazing mum.”

It’s an interesting metaphor – Bryan, who started out Resident Evil so resistant to change, is no longer able to avoid it. 

Eventually, he reaches the destination and the scientists quickly get to work finalising the cure. Bryan is hoping they can give him a dose before he fully transforms, but it’s too late. As he morphs into an amalgamation, he ends up slaughtering them until it’s just him and one scientist with a syringe full of the completed cure. 

What’s left of Bryan begs him to inject him, but just as he’s about to plunge the needle, the infection fully takes over. Byran grabs the syringe and throws it from the roof, just moments before National Guard helicopters close in on him. 

Ultimately, Resident Evil’s ending is as bleak as it gets – the protagonist is no more, the scientists are dead and the cure is gone. We don’t even get an update on Michelle and whether she decides to keep the baby. 

How Zach Cregger was able to change the Resident Evil ending

But Cregger had originally written an even bleaker ending, involving the scientists accidentally destroying the cure much earlier. Test audiences felt the movie was over at that point, although luckily the director had contingency footage up his sleeve. 

Speaking to Collider, the Weapons filmmaker explained, “One of the missteps I made early on was not doing that,” in reference to the fact that you can feel Bryan’s want for the cure right to the very end. 

“And so we reorganised the chain of events. Thank god I shot for this as a contingency plan. It was like my plan B. Originally in the script, that scientist pulls the needle out, and as soon as Austin grabs the woman’s face, he drops it and it shatters.”

Cregger explained that the rest of the movie was just Bryan killing the scientists. “People were just like, ‘No, like, it’s over.’ But I shot that shot of the scientist putting the needle in his pocket because I had a feeling. I was like, ‘I feel like I’m going to need that,’” he added. 

“And so then we were able to build a new sequence of the end… I shot a contingency of him going for the stab in Prague when we were doing our thing, as just like, ‘If I need it, I should just get it.’ And thank god, because that’s what we ended up using.”

As the director pointed out, the new final sequence means the stakes remain high all the way to the very end. 

In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bryan star Austin Abrams explained that he’s happy Cregger didn’t shy away from giving the story a downer ending. 

“With a lot of movies nowadays, they’re a little too afraid to do something like that – to kill off a character you really like. And if they do, the blow is softened in some way so it doesn’t hurt too much,” Abrams said. 

“Whereas a lot of older films don’t do that; they just rip your heart out. So I’m just appreciative that Zach is willing to take a risk like that.”

The outlet also mentioned the fact that we don’t even get a scene showing Michelle receiving Bryan’s final message about her being a great mum. 

Speaking on this, Abrams said, “That’s part of the tragedy of it all. It’s so damn sad when you really think about it. She thinks he doesn’t want to have this baby, when he actually does. He realises, ‘No, I love her. Having a kid isn’t as scary as I thought, and I want to do it with her.’ 

“So the fact that she’ll never know that is pretty damn tragic. He changed and got better, but no one will ever know about it. There’s something really beautiful and tragic about that.”

That said, he’s not ruling out the possibility that it was sent off screen. “I don’t remember if I did, but who knows? Maybe he sent his voice memo while going up the staircase, and it’s just something we didn’t get to see,” he explained. 

You never know, maybe we’ll find out in a follow-up film down the line. There’s no news on whether Cregger will make a Resident Evil 2 yet, but he certainly has some ideas. 

In a conversation with The Playlist ahead of his first movie’s release, he said, “I can’t help thinking about other places this story could go. I’ve got ideas, but this movie hasn’t even come out yet. Let’s see what happens.”

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Featured image credit: Sony Pictures