Zach Cregger's New Sci-Fi Epic Is His "Most Disturbing Film" Yet (Exclusive)

Published Sep 21, 2026, 4:35 PM EDT Sign in to your ScreenRant account Zach Cregger may have just delivered the horrors of Resident Evil, but his next movie could be even more disturbing. Following the major success of Barbarian, Weapons, and his new Resident Evil adaptation, Cregger is turning his attention to The Flood, a mysterious sci-fi project that is now moving forward. While details about the movie have remained largely under wraps, Cregger has revealed both a major production update and what audiences can expect from its tone. In an interview with ScreenRant's Ash Crossan at the Resident Evil red carpet premiere, Cregger confirmed that The Flood is currently casting and in "soft prep," with hopes to begin full preparation in February before filming next summer. He also teased why the project could push his work into even darker territory: "It’s science fiction, and it’s probably my most disturbing film. It’s not a horror movie, but it has a lot of horror in it. I love it. I think it’s really, really special. I’m excited about it." Calling The Flood his "most disturbing film" is saying quite a lot considering what Cregger has already put audiences through. Barbarian marked his breakout as a horror filmmaker in 2022, while 2025's terrifying Weapons continued his run with another twisted original story. Now, Resident Evil has given Cregger an entire world of zombies, mutations, and body horror to play with. That makes his description of The Flood even more challenging to get a read on, especially since he doesn't consider the upcoming movie a horror film at all. Instead, Cregger is calling it science fiction with "a lot of horror" mixed in. He has also compared elements of The Flood to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, while teasing that the movie will take a more experimental approach to science-fiction. Exactly what makes the movie so disturbing remains a mystery, as he didn't give away any story details when asked what it was about. Although still far away, Cregger also offered a fairly clear picture of where The Flood currently stands in development: "We are casting now. We’re in soft prep. I’m hoping to start hard prep in February, and hopefully we’re going to be shooting it next summer. I’m so excited. I’m really excited. I love it." Cregger's comments also give the project a tentative production window, with filming potentially beginning in summer 2027 if everything moves according to plan. It also sounds as though he isn't planning to leave behind the genre elements that have defined his recent work just because The Flood is technically science fiction. Both Barbarian and Weapons became known for taking sharp turns and refusing to tell audiences exactly where they were headed, while Resident Evil allowed him to bring that approach to an established franchise. The Flood will put him back in the world of an original story, and calling it his most disturbing movie yet sets a pretty high bar for whatever he's currently preparing. There is no official set release date for The Flood. The Flood Release Date August 11, 2028 Director Zach Cregger Writers Zach Cregger