At SDCC, 'Until Dawn' Director Reveals New Details About 'Weapons' Prequel

During the Director's on Directing panel at San Diego Comic-Con, director Zach Cregger, of Weapons, commented on the prequel centered on Aunt Gladys, played by Amy Madigan.

"I loved working with Amy. I love that character and I think, you know, for the movie Weapons, it made a lot of sense not to dive into her past, because the idea was to keep her very enigmatic and mysterious," the director said. "That said, I think there's an incredible story to be told about Gladys's origin and how she became the person we know. And that story has a lot of twists, mysteries, and crazy things, kind of in the same vein as Weapons. I think it's going to be great."

"So, the script is in development right now. But we're taking it very seriously, and the project is moving in the right direction. In short: it's being written." the director explained

Everything you need to know about Weapons

Weapons is described as a horror epic with multiple interconnected stories, something along the lines of director Paul Thomas Anderson's masterpiece Magnolia. Specific plot details are, of course, being kept under wraps, but the script sparked a bidding-war atmosphere among multiple studios and streamers when it was sent out in January 2023, with the director's agents reportedly receiving offers to grant early access. Those were denied, and the competitors only got access to the document that morning.

As part of the deal signed with Warner, Cregger was guaranteed a greenlight for the film and has the right to approve the final cut as long as Weapons hits a score set by the contract in test screenings. The filmmaker will also receive a share of the box office revenue and, of course, a guaranteed theatrical release worldwide with Warner Bros. distributing.

The feature stars Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War), Julia Garner (Ozark), and Alden Ehrenreich (Oppenheimer). Also in the cast are Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, Austin Abrams, and Cary Christopher. 

Warner Bros. hoped that if Weapons worked out, Cregger would become a frequent new voice within the studio with new horror projects. Perhaps replacing The Conjuring creator James Wan, who traded Warner for Universal because of his new partnership with Blumhouse, the giant production company behind M3GAN, Halloween, and The Purge.

For his part, Cregger brought the entire producing team from Barbarian back for Weapons. Alongside the director, the producers are Roy Lee, J.D. Lifshitz, Raphel Margules, and Miri Yoon.