Weapons Is Getting an Aunt Gladys Prequel — Like It or Not

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

Weapons emerged as one of 2025’s most talked-about horror films. Its central mystery — 17 children vanish after leaving their homes at precisely 2:17 a.m. — is unnervingly simple and devastatingly effective. The movie’s taut, self-aware approach plays best on the big screen with a full house, and it translated to strong box-office returns, opening to $42.5 million in its first weekend. For context on the theatrical experience, see this piece on why it’s a film made for a crowded cinema: Polygon.

A prequel centered on Aunt Gladys now appears to be in development.

While speaking to Fangoria about the physical release of Weapons, director Zack Cregger confirmed recent chatter about a follow-up. In August, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Warner Bros. Discovery had requested some kind of continuation, though it wasn’t clear whether that was driven by the studio’s appetite for sequels or by Cregger’s own creative plans.

“It is real, and I’ve been talking to Warner Bros. about it,” Cregger told Fangoria. “There’s a story and I’m pretty excited about it. It’s not bullshit. I was ready. I had it kind of in my pocket before the movie came out.”

Centering a prequel on Aunt Gladys — the scene-stealing, larger-than-life presence at the heart of the film’s mystery — feels like an obvious route to expand the storyworld. That said, it contrasts with what Cregger told Vanity Fair in August: he said he offered Amy Madigan two possible origin choices for her character and left the final pick to her, without revealing which she chose. The current reports imply Cregger has long held his own version of Gladys’s backstory, even if he kept it from the actor during production.

Don’t expect the prequel to arrive immediately. Cregger is next attached to a new entry in the Resident Evil franchise slated for 2026, which could delay work on Gladys’s origin. Still, given how quickly he’s been producing horror projects, a standalone Aunt Gladys film seems likely to follow within a relatively short timeframe.

Source: Polygon