Zach Cregger Confirms Prequel for Biggest 2025 Horror Hit

Zach Cregger’s 2025 horror film Weapons is already getting a prequel, the director confirmed. The movie, which has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, was a big hit with both critics and audiences.

Weapons tells the story of seventeen children who mysteriously disappear from the same classroom on the same night.

The film features a large ensemble cast, including Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Toby Huss, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan. Cregger not only directed the film but also wrote, produced, and co-scored it.

After the success of his 2022 horror hit Barbarian, Cregger began working on Weapons. The script hit the market in January 2023 and sparked a bidding war between studios. New Line Cinema won the rights, and casting ran from May to July 2023.

Some actors dropped out due to scheduling conflicts caused by Hollywood labor disputes that year, but casting resumed in February 2024 and wrapped in May. Filming took place in Atlanta and ended in July. Cregger sold the script for $38 million. Weapons was released in U.S. theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 8, and went on to earn $264 million worldwide.

Cregger previously told Variety that he has ideas for expanding the Weapons universe. “I have another idea for something in this world that I’m kind of excited about. I’m not going to do it next, and I probably won’t do it after my next movie, but I do have one and I’d like to see it on the screen one day,” he said.

Warner Bros. is now exploring a prequel that will focus on the character Aunt Gladys. Cregger confirmed the prequel is real and has been in development for some time. “It is real and I’ve been talking to Warner Bros. about it. There’s a story and I’m pretty excited about it. It’s not bull****,” he said. “I was ready. I had it kind of in my pocket before the movie came out.”

The prequel will give fans more insight into the world of Weapons while expanding the story that has already captured the audience’s attention.

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