Weapons director Zach Cregger is “pretty excited” about the prequel story
Weapons, the new horror film from Barbarian writer/director Zach Cregger, was very well received, with JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray giving it a 9/10 review you can read at THIS LINK, and it had a good run at the box office. The reception was so positive that Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema quickly started planning to expand this into a franchise, talking to Cregger about making a prequel that would center on the Aunt Gladys character, played by Amy Madigan (Antlers). Madigan commented on the possibility during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying that “nothing’s real ’til it’s real.” Soon after, Cregger talked to Fangoria about the possibility – and he said, “It is real.” Now, Cregger has said that he’s “pretty excited” about the story that will be told in the prequel.
(Beware of SPOILERS in the article below.)
Cregger assembled a strong cast for Weapons, including Madigan, Julia Garner (Ozark), Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), Austin Abrams (Euphoria), June Diane Raphael (Grace and Frankie), and Cary Christopher (Days of Our Lives). Most details about the film were successfully shrouded in mystery in the build-up to its release, but it was said that it’s “an interrelated, multistory horror epic” that’s tonally in the vein of Magnolia, and the story revolves around the disappearance of elementary school kids in a small town. Here’s the official synopsis: When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
It has been said that Cregger had written more for Aunt Gladys in the Weapons script, including a whole chapter on her back story, but he pulled it to keep the movie from going too long. And during a conversation with Vanity Fair, he revealed that he told Madigan she could pick between two different options for the character’s back story. Option one: Gladys was just a normal person using dark magic to cure her disease. Option two: Gladys was a non-human creature who was using her bizarre makeup and wig in a poor attempt to mimic humans.
Maybe we’ll find out the truth in the prequel. During an interview on Deadline‘s Crew Call podcast, Cregger was asked for an update on the prequel. He said (with thanks to SuperHeroHype for the transcription), “We’re still kind of in the deal-making process, so I don’t think there’s much that I am allowed to say at this point, but… the story is what I am pretty excited about.” He also said that Weapons was a very personal movie and autobiographical in a lot of ways. “The Alex chapter, the final chapter, he’s very much how I felt as a kid. Anyone who grew up in a household of addiction can smell what’s going on in that chapter. I know what it’s like to live in a house where a foreign substance comes into my house and turns my father into a different person, and I know what it’s like to go to school and act like nothing’s wrong, and then come home and have a scary, scary house with a dad I don’t recognize.“
Are you a fan of Weapons, and would you be interested in watching a prequel? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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