super valid synopsis and takeaway but dead internet theory all up n down this post and its replies “this isnt just blah blah, its blah blah blah” ass answers
Honestly, this theory would make Bryan being the protagonist make WAY more sense.
If he’s intentionally written like an “NPC” from the games, then his story doesn’t need to end with him becoming the hero or escaping Raccoon City. Resident Evil has always been full of tragic stories hidden behind documents, recordings, reports and random encounters the people who were there before Leon or Claire ever arrived, and whose stories usually end badly.
Bryan leaving a message for his girlfriend, carrying the ingredients for a cure, getting infected and still trying to complete the delivery would make his entire journey feel less like a traditional zombie movie and more like one of those heartbreaking files you’d discover in the middle of a Resident Evil game.
And if he ultimately becomes part of the outbreak instead of surviving it, that could be the point. We’re not watching the “chosen hero” of Raccoon City. We’re watching what happens to an ordinary person caught inside the same nightmare.
If Cregger is actually using Bryan this way, the movie could be telling an RE story from the perspective we almost never get to see: the people whose stories became the documents the protagonists find later.
there's a therapeutic technique called behavioral activation which can be a little confusing in therapy speak, but i found these memes that explain it in examples very well ^_^