Team Behind Horror Hit ‘Barbarian’ Sets Mysterious Next Project ‘Weapons’
After making one of the most talked about horror movies of 2022, Zach Cregger has set his sights on a follow-up. The “Barbarian” writer-director’s sophomore film “Weapons” will begin production this year, it was announced January 25.
The film, which has not revealed any plot details, will be distributed by New Line Cinema and receive a full theatrical release. Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute the film worldwide. Cregger, best known before “Barbarian” for his work as a writer in the comedy troupe “The Whitest Kids U’Know” and its IFC TV series, will produce the film, alongside the rest of the producing team from “Barbarian,” including Roy Lee of Vertigo and J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules of BoulderLight Pictures. Vertigo’s Miri Yoon will also produce.
“Zach proved with ‘Barbarian’ that he can create a visceral theatrical experience for audiences and that he commands every tool in the filmmaker toolbelt,” New Line Cinema President and CCO Richard Brener said in a statement. “We couldn’t be happier that he, Roy and Miri, and J.D. and Rafi chose New Line to be the home of his next film, and hope it is the first of many to come.”
In addition to “The Whitest Kids U’Know,” Cregger’s other work includes roles on sitcoms such as “Guys With Kids” starring Jimmy Fallon, “About a Boy,” and “Wrecked.” He is repped by CAA, Artists First, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.
“Barbarian,” which premiered at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022 before receiving a theatrical release from 20th Century Studios in September, starred Georgina Campbell as a young woman who arrives at an Airbnb only to discover a man (played by Bill Skarsgård) staying at the same house. Initially unnerved, the two stay the night together, but quickly discover there are stranger and darker threats in the house. Justin Long also stars in the twist-laden thriller, which received positive reviews when it premiered and proved a major box office success, grossing over $45 million worldwide on a $4.5 million production budget.
In their review of the film for IndieWire, critic Jude Dry wrote that the film “mines multiple real-life scenarios and fears to unleash some truly unhinged terrors. It’s no ‘Get Out,’ but it’s a hell of a lot of fun — with a little something to say as well.”