Weapons is the title of the mysterious next film by Zach Cregger, who made an impressive debut in the horror genre with one of the best horror movies of 2022, Barbarian. The critical and financial success of that unique thriller got me immediately interested in seeing what the former sketch comedy performer might be working on for his follow-up.
At the moment, I have absolutely no idea what to expect from Weapons, but secrecy seems to be an essential element of Cregger’s style and I could not admire the filmmaker more for that. For now, let’s take a deeper look at what we do know about this upcoming horror movie so far in the following guide.
What Is The Weapons Release Date?
Currently, Weapons is set to come out on January 16, 2026. I imagine there are many other Barbarian fans like me who wish that the film would appear on the upcoming 2025 movies schedule. However, it seems like it might be worth the wait based just on the talent confirmed to be involved.
The Weapons Cast
While it boasted a relatively modest size, the Barbarian cast also boasted some big names, such as Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, and Richard Brake. The star-studded Weapons cast is much larger this time, but none of the actors’ roles have been disclosed yet.
Josh Brolin
Filling in for Pedro Pascal — who dropped out due to his busy schedule, including the Fantastic Four reboot — as the lead of Weapons is fellow Marvel movie star Josh Brolin, who made his debut in 1985’s The Goonies. He became a Hollywood heavy-hitter after starring in the Best Picture Oscar winner, 2007’s No Country for Old Men, and gave an Academy Award-nominated performance in Milk from the following year. The Thanos actor’s other notable credits include another great Western movie from the Coen Brothers (2010’s True Grit), Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies, and Amazon Prime's, Outer Range, which he also produces.
Julia Garner
Also in the Weapons cast is Brolin’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For co-star, Julia Garner, whose own breakthrough moment was her three-time Emmy-winning role in Netflix’s Ozark cast as Ruth. She was previously known for 2011’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and the modern high school movie classic, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and has since turned in memorable performances in the likes of Waco and Inventing Anna. Garner is also playing the Silver Surfer in the aforementioned The Fantastic Four: First Steps and has another thriller coming soon: Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man from Blumhouse.
Alden Ehrenreich
Also in theWeapons cast is Brolin's Hail, Caesar! co-star, Alden Ehrenreich, who became even better known as a younger version of one of Harrison Ford’s most iconic characters in 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story. He followed the Star Wars movie with Peacock’s series adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, starred in Netflix’s Fair Play, and, in 2023, starred in Cocaine Bear and joined the Oppenheimer cast as “Senate Aide.” Ehrenreich is also set to join the MCU in the upcoming Marvel TV show, Ironheart.
Benedict Wong
Yet another MCU star in the Weapons cast is Benedict Wong, who also plays Sorcerer Supreme Wong in the franchise. The English actor is also known for some great sci-fi movies like Moon and The Martian, starring in one of the best Black Mirror episodes (“Hated in the Nation”), and recently starred in Netflix’s 3 Body Problem.
Amy Madigan
Also starring in the Weapons cast is Ehrenreich’s Rules Don’t Apply co-star, Amy Madigan, who received an Academy Award nomination in 1986 for Twice in a Lifetime before starring in other ‘80s movie classics like Field of Dreams and Uncle Buck. Some of her more recent credits are under the horror umbrella — namely HBO’s Carnivále (one of the best horror TV shows on Max) and movies like The Hunt and Antlers.
Austin Abrams
Another horror veteran in the Weapons cast is Brolin’s Gangster Squad co-star Austin Abrams of The Walking Dead, Tragedy Girls and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark fame. Another recurring genre in his filmography is coming-of-age dramas, such as 2013’s The Kings of Summer, Paper Towns from 2015, HBO’s acclaimed A24 TV show, Euphoria, and Netflix's Do Revenge cast. Abrams most recently starred opposite Brad Pitt and George Clooney in Wolfs in 2024.
Cary Christopher
Cary Christopher is a young actor best known for TV — namely his starring roles on long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives and Vudu’s Mr. Mom, as well as guest roles on the likes of 9-1-1, Hulu’s horror anthology TV show American Horror Stories, and The Rookie. His feature length credits so far include 2019’s Intuitions and David Fincher’s Oscar-winning, Netflix original biopic biopic, Mank.
June Diane Raphael
Weapons will mark a relatively major departure for June Diane Raphael, who is known primarily for funny movies like The Disaster Artist and Long Shot, and funny TV shows like Netflix’s Grace and Frankie and Big Mouth. Then again, the How Did This Get Made? podcast co-host did have a part in 2007’s Zodiac, had an uncredited vocal appearance in Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers, and recurred on Peacock’s Based on a True Story, so perhaps she is prepared for the sort of horrors that are store with this thriller.
Sara Paxton
Following her vocal cameo in Barbarian, Zach Cregger's spouse, Sara Paxton, will also make a "sneaky" appearance in Weapons, as she revealed to ScreenRant. The Based on a True Story actor – whose previous horror experience also includes Ti West's The Innkeepers and the 2009 remake of The Last House on the Left – believes audiences will be "thrilled" by the film when it comes out.
What Weapons Is About
No one outside of the production is prepared for the horrors that are in store with Weapons. The plot is being kept a mystery but it has been described as an “interrelated, multistory horror epic” similar to the Paul Thomas Anderson movie, Magnolia.
So, if I was to speculate what I think the movie is based on the title, the vague description, and Zach Cregger’s penchant for sprinkling satirical social commentary into his work, I might guess that it is an ensemble piece following various characters and their individual struggles with gun violence. That is merely a theory, of course, and I am excited to find out what story (or stories) the movie actually ends up telling.
Zach Cregger Writes And Directs
As previously established, Weapons will be the latest film from writer and director Zach Cregger — a former member of sketch comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U’Know (who starred in an eponymous, great sketch comedy TV show from 2007 to 2011). However, with the release of 2022’s Barbarian — a twisted hit thriller about an accidental double-booking at an AirBNB that leads to a horrifying discovery — he became part of a trend of comedians-turned-horror filmmakers which was pioneered by Jordan Peele with his Oscar-winning Blumhouse horror movie favorite, Get Out, in 2017.
Cregger actually made his feature-length directorial debut more than a decade earlier with the 2009 comedy, Miss March, which he also starred in and co-directed with his fellow Whitest Kids U’Know member and friend, the late Trevor Moore. He also directed several episodes of WKUK, led a TBS sitcom called Wrecked (a show like Lost with jokes), and produced a Hulu original docuseries called Sasquatch.
Weapons Started Shooting In June 2024
While there is still quite a bit of time before it takes its big hit, Weapons is nearly locked, loaded, and ready to go. As mentioned in a report by THR, the film entered principal photography in the summer of 2024.
Like I said before, I admire how Cregger likes to use mystery as his “secret weapon.” Luckily, we will not have to wait in the dark too long before Weapons hits theaters in 2026.
