Resident Evil Requiem Trailer: Maika Monroe Brings Heart and Horror to Raccoon City
If you’re in New York City or Los Angeles, you might notice cryptic marketing popping up, including in Times Square and Hollywood: a red poster (static and motion) featuring photographs of missing people with the tagline “Evil Has Always Had a Name.”
A QR code links to the new Resident Evil Requiem live-action trailer, starring Maika Monroe. The actress, known for Longlegs, Reminders of Him, and It Follows, describes her role as a “short-film type of dynamic.”
“We had a lot of extras in zombie makeup just cruising around, which was quite funny,” Monroe told Entertainment Weekly. “Cops and dogs and smoke machines — it was chaos. It really felt like chaos.”
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Maika Monroe’s Role in Resident Evil Requiem
Monroe does not play any known Resident Evil character, including anyone from Requiem (out Feb. 27 on consoles). Instead, she tells a standalone story set in Raccoon City, featuring the Umbrella Corporation and the T-virus outbreak. She portrays a mother trying to survive the initial zombie outbreak in the 1990s.
“First the sirens, then the emergency broadcasts… then the screams,” Monroe says. The trailer, shot in Mexico City, shows her navigating chaotic streets, dodging zombies and Lickers. A flash-forward reveals her zombified, clutching a photograph of herself and her child.
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Behind the Scenes: Trailer Production
Directed by Rich Lee (known for music videos with Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey, and Eminem), the trailer features a nostalgic return to 1990s Raccoon City. Monroe, who hasn’t played the Resident Evil games, was introduced to the universe through the Milla Jovovich films.
Monroe says, “It felt very nostalgic… the big point was going back to the ’90s, the original location of Raccoon City… and then getting to be a zombie myself, which was really exciting.”
Resident Evil Requiem Storyline
The story follows FBI intelligence analyst Grace Ashcroft and fan-favorite agent Leon S. Kennedy. Grace investigates an abandoned Midwestern hotel where her mother was murdered eight years prior. When a cop goes missing, Leon is dispatched to assist.
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Maika Monroe’s Horror Career
Monroe, recently seen in a reimagining of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, has a strong background in horror films. Her notable 2024 film with Nicolas Cage and director Osgood Perkins helped establish her genre credentials. She is selective with horror roles, favoring unique and compelling stories.
She teases a return for They Follow, the sequel to her 2014 indie horror hit It Follows. “Rumors have been spreading that it will be happening… stay positive,” Monroe shares.
Regarding the Resident Evil Requiem script, Monroe adds: “It’s not at all what I expected… staying true to the original, bringing back the same team… but the story is grander. I’m really, really excited.”
You may query:
- Resident Evil Requiem
- Maika Monroe
- Raccoon City
- Umbrella Corporation
- T-virus outbreak
- Times Square marketing
- Hollywood marketing
- Red poster campaign
- Live-action trailer
- Rich Lee director
- Leon S. Kennedy
- Grace Ashcroft
- Zombie prosthetics
- Mexico City shoot
- Longlegs
- Reminders of Him
- It Follows
- Horror films
- They Follow sequel
- Milla Jovovich Resident Evil films

