Posted in: Movies, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros | Tagged: weapons, Zach Cregger

Weapons Director Says It's "A Lot Bigger And Weirder Than Barbarian"

Weapons director Zach Cregger says his new film is "creatively ambitious, [and] a lot bigger and weirder than Barbarian."

We all knew that what director Zack Cregger decided to do as his follow-up to Barbarian would be highly anticipated. Barbarian is one of those rare moments when the twist actually worked, and no one saw the second half of the movie coming at all. People are probably going to expect something like that with his upcoming film Weapons, and there is a lot of mystery surrounding it. We only have one trailer so far, and it doesn't tell us much aside from the fact that one entire classroom of kids got up and ran out of their rooms and into the night. The more mystery, the better, and we can hope Warner Bros. won't drop the ball on the marketing for this film like they have for a couple of other movies this year, notably Companion, which Cregger was also involved with. Cregger himself is keeping things vague when he spoke to Empire, using broad terms and promising a good time at the movies.

"[It's] a fun movie," Cregger said. "It's funny, it's scary, it's inviting. It's not a grim, morose slog. And yet the story it tells is really fucked up. … [It's] creatively ambitious, [and] a lot bigger and weirder than Barbarian."

Bigger and weirder sounds like a good time, and this is what happens when you knock a film straight out of the park; studios are willing to give you the budget and the creative freedom to keep pushing your own creative limits. So this film isn't going to be different because it's bigger, weirder, but also because of how Cregger approaches this story. He explained, "Barbarian was an exploration of social themes; [it] was me looking at the world around me. This is more an exploration of my own personal shit, for lack of a better word. Weapons is me looking within, and working on myself." There is something about parents, kids, and what people are willing to do to get their kids back that really pushes the boundaries of polite society. And the desperation to find the children is really the only aspect of Weapons that we know; there's something else going on, and pushing the boundaries of polite society is probably going to be the least of anyone's worries by the time the third act hits.

Weapons: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

This is where the story really starts.

From New Line Cinema and Zach Cregger, the wholly original mind behind Barbarian, comes a new horror/thriller: Weapons.

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. The film stars Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, with Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan.

Cregger directs from his own screenplay, and also produces alongside Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, with Michelle Morrissey and Josh Brolin executive producing. The filmmaker's creative team behind the camera includes director of photography Larkin Seiple, production designer Tom Hammock, editor Joe Murphy and costume designer Trish Sommerville. The music is by Ryan Holladay, Hays Holladay and Zach Cregger.

New Line Cinema Presents a Subconscious/Vertigo Entertainment/Boulderlight Pictures Production, a Zach Cregger Film, Weapons. It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, and released in theaters and IMAX nationwide on August 8, 2025, and internationally beginning in August 2025.

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