After His Latest Horror Hit, Zach Cregger Targets DC Movie Featuring Notable Villains

Zach Cregger is having a moment. His new horror film Weapons just hit theaters, and it’s already being called one of the best genre movies of the year.

The film is riding high with a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and word of mouth has been pushing its numbers higher all week. It’s tracking for a strong box office debut, and New Line, the studio behind it, seems eager to keep working with him.

Cregger has quickly become one of the most in-demand and highest-paid filmmakers of his generation, but he’s not slowing down. His next stop is Prague this fall, where he’ll direct Resident Evil for Sony.

This new adaptation will be nothing like the seven previous movies in the franchise. According to a source who’s read the script, which Cregger co-wrote with Shay Hatten, it’s a tight, suspenseful thriller inspired by the original games. The story follows a protagonist on a dangerous journey from one location to another, with countless zombies blocking the way.

Once that’s done, Cregger is hoping to move forward with a secret sci-fi project he’s already written. But the project that’s been getting the most online buzz lately is Henchmen, a DC Studios idea he wrote before his 2022 breakout hit Barbarian. Cregger has called it “the favorite script I’ve ever written.”

The story focuses on a low-level Gotham City henchman who accidentally becomes famous after managing to take down Batman, purely by luck. Batman would only appear briefly in the film, but Harley Quinn and Joker are both part of the story. Sources say DC is aware of Cregger’s interest in making the movie, but he hasn’t pitched it officially yet.

There are still major roadblocks. DC hasn’t locked in casting for Joker or Batman in its current cinematic universe. There’s also uncertainty over whether Margot Robbie would return as Harley Quinn.

On top of that, DC heads James Gunn and Peter Safran are being very careful with Batman projects, especially since Matt Reeves is busy with The Batman Part II starring Robert Pattinson, and possibly even a Part III later on. They don’t want to overlap villains between Reeves’ films and the new DC Universe.

As a side note, The Batman Part II is aiming for a spring shoot. Before that, Robert Pattinson is expected to film a role in Dune: Part III.

For Cregger, it all comes down to how Resident Evil performs. If it’s a hit, it could open the door for Henchmen and his other big ideas. With Weapons already winning over critics and audiences, his career momentum is hard to ignore. Whether it’s zombies, sci-fi, or Gotham’s underworld, it seems like Cregger’s next few years are going to be busy.

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