Although Zach Cregger first became known as part of The Whitest Kids U’ Know comedy troupe, things really changed for him with his 2022 horror film, Barbarian, a movie that shook up the world of horror with its whiplash plot twist that led to some of the goriest visuals of that year.

His follow-up, Weapons, stars Julia Garner as elementary school teacher Justine Gandy, who entire classroom of 17 kids at Maybrook Elementary School mysteriously vanish into the night, leaving just one kid, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). Everyone wants answers to the kids’ disappearance, including one father (Josh Brolin); Justine’s principal boss (Benedict Wong), who doesn’t believe she’s responsible; police officer Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), who is having an affair with Justine; and a local homeless junkie (Austin Abrams), who gets involved purely by chance. Young Alex doesn’t have any answers, and neither does his odd aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan), but as the different characters get deeper into investigating, they discover circumstances that are even odder than expected.

Cinema Daily US spoke with Cregger recently about making Weapons, and whether it’s a horror movie or not (he doesn’t care either way, as well as getting just a small hint about his plans for Resident Evil. 

Cinema Daily US: It’s great to see and talk to you again. I really enjoyed this movie and how different it was from Barbarian. I feel  Barbarian was a tough movie to market that people discovered from word of mouth after it opened, where this one may be an easier movie to market, until you watch it, and it’s a very different movie than some may be expecting. When you’re writing something like this, are you thinking about things like that? 

Zach Cregger: No, no. I mean, if you’re thinking about anything when you’re writing, like marketing or how to get butts in seats, you’re doing it wrong. I think. Look, I hope that I can write for the joy of writing. That’s not always possible – it’s easier said than done –  but if you’re having fun, you’re doing it right. I try not to think about marketing and box office or anything like that.

That makes sense, but you do also have to pitch it and get someone at the studio to finance it. 

Yeah, and there’s always that little voice that’s saying, “This idea is not sellable.” You can’t help but let that stuff it, but you try and seal it off as much as possible.

In this case, was it really that opening five-minute narration that was the main selling point or main thing that you were pitching? 

Yeah, it all began with that cold open. It’s a very clean hook, and I knew that the mystery of these kids running out at the same time, and we don’t know why, is an intriguing one. I didn’t pitch this movie, by the way. I just wrote the script and then just sent the script out, so I didn’t have to go in and sit down and sing for my supper. I was able to just let people read the whole story.

Do you see it as a horror movie, first and foremost, because it has elements of it, but also mixes genres?

I know it’s being sold as a horror movie, and I’m totally okay with that. I don’t really think of it as a pure horror movie because to me, a horror movie lives or dies by whether it is or is not scary, and I think that even if Weapons wasn’t scary, I still think it would be a good movie, because it’s telling a compelling story. I think the scares just sweeten the deal for me, but it doesn’t need to be scary. I don’t really think of it as a horror movie, but I don’t care if somebody calls it a horror movie. That’s fine. 

I mean, it gets pretty terrifying in the last half hour, it’s just absolutely horrifying, nightmare-inducing stuff. It does get there, but I wonder when other people watch it, whether they’ll consider it a horror movie. 

I don’t know. I’m cool with yes or no. It doesn’t matter to me. 

I want to talk about casting the movie. It feels like you cast a lot of actors out of type, even Julia Garner, who I feel she’s very strong in her roles. I don’t really see her playing a damaged role like Vivian. Alden Ehrenreich, I didn’t even recognize. Can you talk about when you have a script like, what’s your first step as far as casting, since this is essentially an ensemble piece?

You have to make sure that everybody is the right color for the overall palette. So, you can’t just cast the first big star that wants to do the movie. You’ve got to make sure that everybody fits into the same universe. Alden Ehrenreich is one of my favorite actors. Ever since I saw Hail, Caesar!, I was like, “Who is this guy? Why is he not in every movie getting made? He’s the best.” So, I love Alden. Austin Abrams, I’ve had a huge crush on him as an actor ever since Brad’s Status. It’s this Mike White movie that he did. He is amazing in that movie. So, I’ve always been keeping an eye on him. Amy Madigan, I can’t think of anyone else who could do Gladys. She’s perfect. She’s got that Chicago, Midwestern spark, and she’s also got this cold reptilian laser ability that she can tap into really easily. So, I love her. And then, Julia is one of the best actors of her generation. I mean, she is really a diamond, and not a lot of people can inhabit all of these different characters so completely like she does. To be able to play this mousy, wounded animal who’s a nurturing third-grade teacher and then also this alcoholic, spunky mess. It’s hard to do both of those things, and she nails it. And then, Josh Brolin is Josh Brolin. I mean, the dude is amazing. I was so excited to be able to even talk to him about the movie, let alone put him in it. 

I think Austin’s character is going to be one of the breakouts. I think he’s going to be the one that people are drawn to and relate to oddly.

He’s the worst person in the movie in some ways, and yet, he’s so damn likable. You can’t help but root for him as he goes on his escapades. 

What about working with kids? Because you really do go full throttle with the kids, including Cary, who is great, but then you have many others as well.

Cary is amazing. Working with Cary is not really like working with a child actor. It’s just working with an actor, you know? He’s very smart. He’s very present. He asks a lot of intelligent questions, and he’s just low maintenance, honestly. Working with 17 kids in one room and having them run around and jump through stuff, and go crazy. I don’t recommend it. I don’t recommend it at all.

Hey, it worked out in the long run. 

It worked out, but it was not fun.  

Last time we spoke for Barbarian, we might have talked about this, but I was interested in your comedy background, because you seem to come from a same background as Jordan Peele, who was more known for comedy, and then he started making these super-dark, political horror movies. I was very curious about that connection and how your own comedy background has led to these two crazy horror movies.

I mean, it’s the same muscle group. A joke works, because you’re able to surprise the audience. An action with an expected result yields an unexpected outcome, right? That’s the anatomy of every joke. Literally, every joke has that formula at the heart of it. And so, you’re working that muscle group really hard with comedy, and then horror is kinda the same. It’s all about subverting expectation. A joke and a scare are both very much dependent on timing and tone, so it was like going to the gym all those years of doing comedy, and then when you transition into horror, you’re already in shape. 

I’d love to talk to you more about Companion, which I really loved and was glad to see you get involved as a producer. But we’re running out of time, so quickly, are you already actively working on Resident Evil?

Yeah, I’m in prep. 

You’re already in prep? I know you probably can’t say much about that, but were you a fan of the video games?

Massive, massive fan of the video games. I’ve played them all, and I love them, and so I want to make a movie that really is an homage to those games and that feels the way I feel when I play those games. 

But will it also include some of the originality that you brought to these last two movies?

It’s not going to be as structurally unique in the way that these movies are, but it’s a bit more straightforward storytelling. But it’s going to be a weird movie, I can tell you that. I don’t think I’ve seen a movie like it. 

CDUS: Zach, it’s great talking to you again, man, and I look forward to seeing Weapons a second time.

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Writer/Director: Zach Cregger

Cast: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Benedict Wong, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Amy Madigan, Cary Christopher

Producer: Zach Cregger, Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, J.D. Lifshitz, Raphael Margules

Production Co: Vertigo Entertainment, Subconscious, BoulderLight Pictures

Distributor: New Line Cinema

Rating: R (Strong Bloody Violence and Grisly Images|Language Throughout|Some Sexual Content and Drug Use)

Genre: Horror

Language: English

Release Date (Theaters): August 8, 2025

Runtime: 2 hours 8 minutes

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