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Weapons was such a smashing box office success that fans immediately begged director Zach Cregger for more — and now a prequel is finally happening.
Chatter about a potential second movie began shortly after the film’s initial release in August 2025. The horror flick starred Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Toby Huss, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, Whitmer Thomas and Callie Schuttera, with a cameo from Justin Long. (Long also appeared in Cregger’s Barbarian, however, Cregger told Us Weekly at the film’s premiere that Weapons is “not affiliated with Barbarian.”)
Cregger addressed speculation that the Weapons franchise would be continuing in the future at the premiere.
“I do think that there is a world where Weapons can expand,” he told Us at the time, adding that he didn’t “want to say too much.”
Cregger continued, “It sounds weird, and I don’t fancy myself that kind of a filmmaker where I have my own universe. It feels weird to me. But I do think there’s other stories to be told about some of the characters in this movie.”
Weapons grossed $264 million worldwide and has already generated its fair share of Oscar buzz.
“It doesn’t feel real,” Cregger told Fangoria in September 2025 of the film’s success. “Look, it feels great. I don’t know how else to describe it. I kind of can’t let myself basque too much because then somehow I feel like the universe is just going to take it away. But I couldn’t be more happy with how Weapons has turned out. I’m so proud of it.”
In the same interview, he teased some major news about the prequel that has everyone talking.
Scroll below for more on the expansion of the Weapons franchise:
Zach Cregger Teased ‘Weapons’ Prequel in Development
Amid the film’s August 2025 release, Cregger was asked by The Hollywood Reporter if he had any ideas for sequels.
“Definitely. I’ve actually … it’s funny you asked that. I can’t help it: I have another idea for something in this world that I’m kind of excited about,” he told the outlet. “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.”
Cregger confirmed that suspicions about a Weapons prequel were true the following month.
“It is real and I’ve been talking to Warner Bros. about it,” he told Fangoria in September 2025. “There’s a story and I’m pretty excited about it. It’s not bulls**t.”
What Will the ‘Weapons’ Prequel Be About?
The prequel will center around the menacing Aunt Gladys, played by Madigan.
“I was ready,” Cregger told Fangoria about developing the prequel. “I had it kind of in my pocket before the movie came out.”
What Happened to Aunt Gladys in ‘Weapons’?
Gladys is introduced to viewers as Alex’s aunt, who comes to stay with the family before his classmates go missing in the middle of the night. Immediately, it’s clear she has ill intentions, as she visits Alex’s school and tells the principal that she is Alex’s caretaker after his parents have “fallen ill.” Soon after, she’s revealed to be a witch, performing voodoo and enchantments on the town’s citizens, including Alex’s classmates and parents, leaving them in a catatonic state.
A father of one of the missing students, Archer (Brolin), and Alex’s teacher, Justine Gandy (Garner), team up to investigate what’s really going on in Alex’s home. They figure out that Gladys has been the one wreaking havoc on the town as a means to drain the energy from the citizens and help her live longer. Archer and Justine later find the children she’s been kidnapping in the basement of Alex’s home.
The real hero of the story is Alex, who risks his own life to perform a spell that causes the children to chase Gladys throughout the neighborhood and tear her limb from limb. Though Gladys gets killed, the kids are still left in a trance. In a voice-over at the end of the film, a child explains that Alex went to live with a different aunt and some of the kids have started speaking again.
