Barbarian director Zach Cregger wants Leon Kennedy as his personal bodyguard

Barbarian director Zach Cregger has a very specific answer when asked who he'd want protecting him: Resident Evil 2's Leon Kennedy, and he'd apparently cling to the guy for dear life.

The source article is paywalled and the full quote is the headline — Cregger said he would "just bear hug myself around him" — but the sentiment is clear enough. Leon Kennedy, the perpetually unlucky but absurdly capable RPD rookie turned government agent, has apparently won over at least one Hollywood horror director as the ultimate survival companion.

Cregger is best known for Barbarian, the 2022 horror film that became a word-of-mouth hit, and he's been publicly attached to a Resident Evil film project. That context makes his Leon answer feel less like a random celebrity hot-take and more like a director who has genuinely spent time thinking about the RE universe and its characters. Leon has been a fan-favourite since Resident Evil 2 and cemented that status further with Resident Evil 4, where his one-liners and combat competence became the stuff of gaming legend.

It's a light moment, but for fans of the franchise it's a reassuring signal that the person potentially steering a new RE film adaptation actually has affection for the source material rather than just a studio deal.