2025 was a banner year for horror movies, and one of the biggest success stories was Zach Cregger’s Weapons. Bolstered by enthusiastic word of mouth, it became a major breakout hit, grossing $270 million worldwide against a $38 million production budget. People came to the theater interested in learning about the mystery of the 17 disappearing kids, and the left terrorized by the culprit: Aunt Gladys. In what ended up being an Oscar-winning turn, Amy Madigan left viewers feeling unsettled with a memorable performance that quickly cemented Gladys’ place in the pantheon of horror movie villains. Almost immediately, talk circulated about a prequel movie centering on Aunt Gladys, and now that project has taken an important step forward.
According to Deadline, Cregger and Zach Shields (who has penned multiple installments in the MonsterVerse franchise) will co-write the Aunt Gladys prequel script. Fittingly, the film’s working title is Gladys. Other details, such as a production timeline or release date have not been revealed, implying Gladys remains in the early stages of development.
Zach Cregger Has Had a Weapons Prequel Planned for a While
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.
At first glance, Gladys could be cynically interpreted as Hollywood’s latest attempt at a cash grab, launching a new franchise off the back of a popular standalone original title. However, those who were following Weapons through its development know that Cregger always had his eye on telling Aunt Gladys’ story. Initially, there was a chapter focused on Gladys in Weapons, which would have explored the character’s origin story. It was ultimately cut because Cregger felt Gladys worked better as an enigma within the context of Weapons‘ narrative and he didn’t want to derail the pacing.
This is all to say that Gladys isn’t something that quickly came together because Weapons was a hit. Yes, the critical and commercial success of Weapons undoubtedly allows Cregger to pursue this project, but there’s always been a story (seemingly) worth telling there. The challenge was waiting for the right moment to tell it, and now that Aunt Gladys is a pop culture phenomenon, Cregger and Shields can move full speed ahead on the prequel. Fans are probably in store for a bit of a wait, as Cregger is busy working on his next film, Resident Evil (which debuts this September). He likely won’t turn his attention to Gladys until the video game adaptation is complete, but in the meantime he can bounce ideas of Shields to get a jump start on the process.
Plot details are being kept under lock and key, but Gladys will almost certainly use Weapons‘ deleted Gladys chapter as the foundation for its narrative. The tricky part will be expanding what was originally a short segment of a larger movie into its own, full-length thing. That said, there’s plenty of rich material to work with here. Ever since Weapons came out, fans have wanted to learn more about Gladys, including how and why she started practicing witchcraft and if she is actually related to Alex Lilly and his family. These questions (and more) should be answered in Gladys, meaning we may finally learn which mysterious backstory Madigan selected for her performance. For Weapons, Cregger told her to choose between Gladys being a normal person or a supernatural entity.
Of course, history has proven that prequels can be notoriously difficult nuts to crack. There’s always an inherent risk of undermining the mystique of what made the original work so special. Weapons fans may think they want to know all about Aunt Gladys now, but will they feel the same way when an official backstory becomes canon? It’s a fine line Cregger and Shields will have to walk, but between Barbarian and Weapons, Cregger has quickly established himself as a creative voice in the horror world, so he surely has surprises up his sleeve for Gladys. If handled properly, Gladys can retroactively add even more depth and intrigue to Weapons.
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