'Hit My Line': Chandler Riggs, Star of The Walking Dead, Made His Film for Resident Evil 7 Fans and Would Love to Work with Zack Kreiger on a Sequel

Chandler Riggs, best known for playing Carl on The Walking Dead, made a fan film adapting an iconic moment from Resident Evil 7, and would be open to collaborating with Zack Kreiger on another RE project.

Chandler Riggs, best known for playing Carl in The Walking Dead, made his own fan film based on an iconic moment from Resident Evil 7 — and if he's willing to work with Zack Kreger on another film in the RE universe.

Zack Kerger's Resident Evil adaptation hit theaters in September to rave reviews, becoming the most financially successful film in the entire franchise. Just one month later, Riggs is releasing his own Resident Evil short film alongside a timeline of the games in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.

Riggs adapted the iconic garage fight between Ethan Winters and Jack Baker into a 20-minute high-octane journey, not for fame and acclaim, but simply for the love of the game. Riggs told us he simply wanted to bring the moment to life on screen — but given the timing of his film and Kerger's Resident Evil , we have to ask about his thoughts on his project being so close to Kerger's big-budget take on the original Capcom horror series.

Chandler Riggs BIOHAZARD short film behind the scenes photos

"We were in pre-production when the article came out that Zack Kerger was going to make his [film]. I was like, 'Oh man, cool, we've got to get ours out first.'" We were trying to push the clock and release it about a month ago, but the parts just didn't fit that way, he explained.

"I've been waiting for [Kerger's RE film] for a long time," he added. "And I mean, one of the big reasons I even made it is, you know, I just wanted people to see a good, real live-action adaptation of Resident Evil. I can't wait to see the new version."

Cregger's Resident Evil movie was met with wide acclaim, but has proven to be divisive among hardware fans who have longed for 1:1 adaptations of the games. Kerger was adamantly opposed to doing so, believing that the games already had their stories fully told - and with Riggs playing Ethan Winters in his fan film, he knew exactly how fans felt about his take on the source material.

"Look, it's impossible to please everyone, you know?" He admitted. “I think there's always going to be an unhappy crowd, but I think it's a great way to try to get more people into the show, into the franchise and telling the story that you're trying to tell. This is not an easy task; It's hard to make a Resident Evil movie with Leon and Jill and all, you know what I mean? These characters are pretty iconic from the games, and it's not hard to do. So I have full respect for going your own way and doing your own thing.

"It was an absolutely terrifying thing," he said of playing Ethan Winters, whose face is featured throughout the film. We're trying to do a lot of other things very faithfully and faithfully to the game, but that's a big aspect that we're breaking away from. But there's really no good way to tell [the story] in live-action. I was going back and forth like, "Okay, can we just be in first person the whole time?" Avoid including his face or whatever? But the more we went back and forth on it, the more I was like, “I mean, if we're going to do this and get a bigger audience — more than people who've played the games — then we're going to have to break those rules. It was very scary. I hope people don't have a problem with it."

Riggs is an ardent fan of Resident Evil, and his fan film is proof of that. Of course, he admitted that he'd love to make a feature film adaptation of RE7 one day — as well as the chance to work with Zack Kerger on another RE movie, should the director be willing to return to the franchise.

"The big reason I'm even doing this in the first place is because I love being on set and working with cool people, and that's what it's all about at the end of the day," he told us. And just because I want to be on the set more, and if I can't be on the set of movies or TV shows or whatever, then I make it myself. I just do it. And this is a big fan of this. So, if [Kerger] wants to continue in the universe, I'm fine with that. Listen, my phone is open. Hit me!”

It's possible that this will never happen, given that Kerger has said that he would never touch a film in the franchise again due to the overwhelmingly negative response he received from a section of Resident Evil fans. That said, he already has ideas for a sequel, so there's no telling where the future holds for RE film adaptations.

The Resident Evil fan film Riggs was released on October 14, starring Chandler Riggs as Ethan Winters, Jason Douglas as Jack Baker, Mary Rachel Quinn, Eugenie Bundrant, Jonathan O'Neill and Sam Quiles.

Virginia (she) is the news editor for IGN. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, he has a background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.