Zach Cregger doesn't want to get bogged down in 'the wild aspects' of Resident Evil's lore: 'I'm not going to have a gigantic jacked dude in a trench coat'

What's the weirdest bit of Resident Evil lore you know of? Is it the fact that Claire Redfield's favourite food is a cheeseburger? Maybe it's that Hunk spent a week lost in Raccoon City's sewers eating rats after getting his ass beaten by Birkin? Or perhaps it's that the Tyrant's trench coat is more than just a bold fashion statement—it's actually integral to the build.

There's been a few explanations as to why Tyrants wear trench coats in Resident Evil games. One perk of the coat is that it helps disguise the mutations, which allows Tyrants to infiltrate more sensitive areas, but its biggest bonus is its power-limiting function. Wearing the trench coat holds the Tyrant together by preventing out-of-control mutations, and if it's damaged or the Tyrant removes it you'll get a Super Tyrant.

(Image credit: Capcom)

You'd be forgiven for not knowing this as it's not exactly a widely talked about tidbit, which is exactly why Zach Cregger, director of the upcoming Resident Evil movie, is staying away from Resident Evil's deep lore: to keep the film as grounded as possible.

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"Some of the Resident Evil games get a little magical," Cregger says during a recent junket (via DiscussingFilm). "You know we have a woman who can turn into birds [he means Mother Miranda] and fly around. I love it, I love it, I've played [Resident Evil 8] a bunch of times, I think it's an awesome game, but in terms of me making a movie out of it, it's like I gotta try and limit some of the wild aspects of Resident Evil.

"So I chose to stick with the T-virus, keep it as grounded as possible. So that means I'm not going to have a gigantic jacked dude in a trench coat, because I'm like, 'Where'd the coat come from? How did he get the coat?'"

The was, expectedly, met with a flurry of fury as some accused Cregger of not understanding the intricacies of Resident Evil. But they've failed to see that Cregger actually does understand "why [the Tyrant] exists and why he has the coat". It's not that Cregger doesn't know about the structural integrity of the trench coat, it's just that he doesn't believe it's valuable information for a film, and he's right.

The T-virus has all kinds of cool and fun mutations—that is enough.

Zach Cregger

There's so much to Resident Evil that it's completely unrealistic to think that anyone could condense it all down into a manageable chunk for a film which will likely be under two hours long. It also has to appeal to more than just fans of the game: Someone who has never heard of Resident Evil should be able to watch this film and have a good time without getting confused or bogged down in excessive lore and fan service. Striking that balance is truly an artform.

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Kane Parsons actually managed to pull this off with his Backrooms movie. For those who were knowledgeable about Backrooms the film was full of references and easter eggs, like Clarks furniture store being a reference the photo that inspired the Backrooms as well as other small info dumps about Parsons' Backrooms YouTube series. But you didn't need any prior knowledge to enjoy the film, which is what I think Cregger is gunning for with Resident Evil.

"In the world of this [film] where the outbreak just happened, I want to keep it chaotic, I want to keep it primal, and I want to just keep it just as grounded as I can," Cregger says. "The T-virus has all kinds of cool and fun mutations—that is enough. So I'm limiting it there."