The Success of Zach Cregger’s Barbarian and the Possible Prequel to Weapons
All eyes in the horror world are on Zach Cregger’s Weapons, which currently holds an almost perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes and had a massive opening weekend at the box office. The enthusiastic reviews and big returns seem to be a clear case of Warner Bros. catching lightning in a bottle twice, after they struck gold with Ryan Coogler’s The Sinister earlier this year.
The Background Story of Aunt Gladys
It would be a disservice to Weapons to give too much away about the plot of the famously ambiguous horror film, but a character that is a crucial driving force is the mysterious Aunt Gladys, played by Amy Madigan. Similar to Barbarian, Weapons follows a non-linear structure, with characters being followed through their own chapters and not a linear real-time format. According to a new report, a segment about Aunt Gladys and her background story was initially included but later cut from the final film, leaving a big gap in the story of Weapons.
The Marketing Campaign and Critical Reception
Weapons initially had a brilliantly ambiguous marketing campaign, which Zach Cregger has continued to serve well in his career as a horror filmmaker. Essentially, the marketing campaign shows that Ms. Justine Gandy’s 3rd-grade class has completely disappeared, minus a student, and now a small town is desperate for answers about why her children seem to be staying in the middle of the night of their own free will. Collider’s own Ross Bonaime is one of the dozens of critics who had enormous praise for Weapons, calling it "frightening, funny, and one of the best horror films of 2025" in his review.
Zach Cregger’s Busy Slate Ahead
The suggested Weapons prequel is still at a very early stage, and nothing has been confirmed yet, including whether Zach Cregger would return to direct or not. From now on, Cregger has several projects in development, including a brand-new Resident Evil film, which will tell a new original story in the popular horror franchise of video games and is set to star Austin Abrams in the leading role. Resident Evil will debut next year on September 18, 2026, and is only placed a week after DC Studios’ Tone film, which is fitting because Cregger recently shared that he wrote a script for a satirical DC Comics spin-off with the title "Handlong." If these two projects were not already big enough, Cregger also has plans for a mysterious science fiction film entitled "Flood."
The Future of Weapons
While a possible prequel may be on the way, Weapons is now in theaters, and fans can catch it on the big screen. The success of the film and the potential for a prequel have left fans eager to see what’s next for Zach Cregger and the world of Weapons. With Cregger’s busy slate ahead, it’s clear that he’s a filmmaker to watch, and his future projects are highly anticipated.
