Director Zach Cregger has shared details about an alternate ending that was originally planned for his recent Resident Evil film, explaining that a significant change was made during production. The current version of the film concludes with a bloody confrontation in an Umbrella Corporation lab, where the T-Virus-infected Brian (Austin Abrams) fights against scientists.
Cregger revealed in an interview with Collider that the initial script had a different trajectory for the cure Brian was transporting. Originally, the needle containing the cure would have been dropped and shattered as soon as Brian began his violent rampage. This would have eliminated the character's motivation to save himself and left the audience with a protagonist solely focused on destruction.
"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. "Then the rest of the movie is just Austin [Brian] killing the scientists, and people were just like, ‘No, like it's over,’ you know."
The director acknowledged this as a potential misstep and opted to reshoot a contingency plan. He had proactively filmed a shot of the scientist pocketing the needle, a decision he credits with allowing them to salvage the ending. "Thank God, I shot this as a contingency plan. It was like my plan B," Cregger stated. This allowed the filmmakers to rework the sequence, extending the importance of the cure until it falls from the top of a building.
"It keeps the stakes all the way until the end. It's like, ‘save him, save him’. Whereas before it was just like, ‘kill them all’," Cregger elaborated. He also confirmed that while they shot additional footage for the ending, including a stab sequence in Prague, there will not be a director's cut of the film.
The Resident Evil movie has been met with positive reception from critics and audiences, holding the title of the highest-rated video game adaptation on Rotten Tomatoes and achieving a successful opening weekend at the box office with $108 million.