Weapons (2026 film)

Weapons
Directed by	Zach Cregger
Written by	Zach Cregger
Produced by	Zach Cregger Roy Lee J. D. Lifshitz Raphael Margules Miri Yoon
Starring	Josh Brolin Julia Garner Alden Ehrenreich Benedict Wong Austin Abrams Amy Madigan June Diane Raphael
Cinematography	Larkin Seiple
Production companies	New Line Cinema BoulderLight Pictures Vertigo Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	January 16, 2026 (2026-01-16)
Country	United States
Language	English

Weapons is an upcoming American horror film produced, written, and directed by Zach Cregger. It stars an ensemble cast that includes Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, Austin Abrams, Amy Madigan, and June Diane Raphael. The film follows a small community after a group of kids mysteriously disappear overnight.

Weapons is scheduled to be released in the United States on January 16, 2026, by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Premise

The film revolves around multi-related plots marked by the disappearance of school kids in the middle of the night, police corruption, generational trauma, witchcraft, blood rituals, and religious abuse in a small Florida community.

Cast

• Josh Brolin
• Julia Garner
• Alden Ehrenreich
• Benedict Wong
• Amy Madigan
• Austin Abrams
• Cary Christopher
• June Diane Raphael
• Clayton Farris

Production

Zach Cregger (pictured) auctioned the rights to the film's script for $38 million.

On January 22, 2023, following the successful financial and critical performance of his film Barbarian the prior year, Zach Cregger's spec script for Weapons entered the market and prompted a bidding war between Netflix, New Line Cinema, TriStar Pictures, and Universal Pictures.[1][2] New Line secured the rights within 24 hours after offering $38 million to cover the budget and talent, with Cregger receiving $10 million for his part as writer, director, and producer and final cut privilege (pending test screening reactions to the film) in addition to a guaranteed theatrical release.[1] Jordan Peele, whose company Monkeypaw Productions participated in the bidding war in conjunction with Universal, parted ways with longtime managers Joel Zadak and Peter Principato, the latter of whom was also Cregger's manager, after losing the auction.[3]

In May 2023, Pedro Pascal and Renate Reinsve were cast to star in the film.[4][5] In February 2024, Pascal exited the project, due to his commitments to The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), with Josh Brolin entering talks to replace him.[6] In April, Julia Garner and Alden Ehrenreich joined the cast of the film, with Brolin confirmed to join as well.[7][8] In May, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, and June Diane Raphael were announced to have joined the cast.[9][10] Principal photography was scheduled to begin in Atlanta in May 2024.[7]

Release

Weapons is scheduled to be released in the United States on January 16, 2026, by Warner Bros. Pictures.[11]

References

1. Kit, Borys (January 25, 2023). "New Line Wins Intense Auction for Weapons, the New Movie From Barbarian Filmmaker Zach Cregger". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
2. Fleming Jr, Mike (January 25, 2023). "New Line Lands Hot Package Weapons; Barbarian's Zach Cregger To Helm His Script". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
3. Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 2, 2023). "Behind The Scenes Of Zach Cregger's Extraordinary 'Weapons' Auction & Its Aftermath: The Dish". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
4. Kit, Borys (May 9, 2023). "Pedro Pascal to Star in Weapons, the New Movie From Barbarian Filmmaker Zach Cregger (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
5. Kit, Borys (May 22, 2023). "Renate Reinsve, Star of The Worst Person in the World, Joins Pedro Pascal in Weapons". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
6. Kit, Borys (February 21, 2024). "Josh Brolin in Talks to Star in Zach Cregger's Horror Thriller Weapons (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
7. Kit, Borys (April 24, 2024). "Julia Garner Joins Josh Brolin in Zach Cregger's Horror Thriller Weapons". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
8. Grobar, Matt (April 29, 2024). "Alden Ehrenreich Joins New Line Horror Thriller Weapons From Zach Cregger". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
9. Grobar, Matt (May 2, 2024). "Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, Austin Abrams & Cary Christopher Round Out Cast Of New Line's Weapons". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
10. Grobar, Matt (May 17, 2024). "June Diane Raphael Joins New Line's Weapons". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
11. D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 14, 2024). "Warner Bros. Dates 'Mortal Kombat 2' & 'Companion' For 2025; Zach Cregger's 'Weapons' For 2026". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 15, 2024.

External links

• Weapons at IMDb