Earlier this month, the rumored Resident Evil reboot movie officially went forward with Barbarian helmer Zach Cregger set to direct and co-write the film. Now, Cregger is reportedly closing in on Austin Abrams to play one of the leading roles in his movie.
According to Deadline, Abrams is in early negotiations for Resident Evil and hasn’t closed his deal yet. Abrams’ best-known role to date is Ethan Lewis, from HBO’s hit drama Euphoria. Abrams has also had recurring roles on The Walking Dead and This is Us, before landing a leading part in Netflix’s Dash & Lily. Additionally, Lewis co-starred in Apple Studios’ Wolfs alongside George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Cregger previously worked with Abrams on the upcoming sci-fi/horror film, Weapons.
There aren’t currently any details about who Abrams would play in the film if he signs on. Cregger and the producers of the reboot have kept the details of the revival well-hidden, but it is described as a return to the roots of Capcom’s iconic survival horror video game franchise.
While none of the live-action Resident Evil movies have been fully in-line with their video game counterparts, director Paul W.S. Anderson found a successful formula in 2002 by casting Milla Jovovich as an original character named Alice. Jovovich’s heroine proved to be so popular that she overshadowed characters who were actually in the game and on her way to headling all five of the sequels.
The seventh live-action film, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, was released in 2021 and it failed to attract much interest at the box office. It was also a reboot of the franchise, but its low-budget and inability to accurately translate the main characters’ personalities or even their costumes led to a dismal $42 million worldwide. Sony and Constantin Film are hoping for a better result when the new Resident Evil opens in theaters on September 18, 2026.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.