Weapons' standout Aunt Gladys may be the focus of a surprise prequel

Not even one week after Zach Cregger’s new horror movie Weapons hit screens, the director is already thinking about making a prequel based on the movie’s chilling villain.

Warning, this article contains spoilers for Weapons, so make sure you have seen the new horror movie first. But first, read our Weapons review.

The standout character amongst Weapons’ sea of stellar castmates has to be Amy Madigan’s creepy but rather fabulous villain, Aunt Gladys. Although we spend half the movie not fully seeing the antagonist, as soon as she is shown, we cannot take our eyes off her. It seems like Cregger realizes this, as the filmmaker is reportedly keen to make a prequel movie focusing on the elusive villain's mysterious past.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Weapons’ studios Warner Bros. and New Line are already talking with Cregger about making an Aunt Gladys movie, exploring the origin story of the strange, witchy character. In Weapons, we learn that the chaos was set in motion when Alex’s parents took in a very frail woman named Gladys Lilly (aunt to Alex’s mother) to give her end-of-life care. However, the old woman soon uses black magic to zombify Alex’s parents and more Maybrook residents so she could feed off their energy and grow stronger.

Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys in the Weapons trailer — (Image credit: Warner Bros)

However, despite Weapons being structured almost as an anthology, with each chapter focusing on a different character and their perspective, we never see the story from Gladys’s eyes or, more importantly, where she came from. It has now been revealed that the movie was actually supposed to feature a Gladys chapter, but it was cut for length purposes. It is believed that the upcoming prequel will expand the lost chapter into a full-length story. However, no deals have been made at this time.

Weapons fans will have to hang tight as Cregger has his hands full. The director is currently in the pre-production stage for his upcoming Resident Evil reboot, which is scheduled to hit theaters on September 18, 2026. The Resident Evil movie stars Weapons’ Austin Abrams, though we learnt this week that he won't be playing an existing character from the games.

Weapons stars Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Abrams, Benedict Wong, and Madigan.

Weapons is out in theaters now. For more, check out our list of the best horror movies, or our guide to all the upcoming horror movies heading our way.

I'm the Junior Social Media Editor here at GamesRadar+, handling all of Total Film's social platforms. However, I also write, covering all things film and TV for the site's entertainment section. I joined GamesRadar+ in 2023 and have been here ever since. I previously worked in communications after graduating with an MA in journalism. In my spare time, you can find me binging horror movies or getting lost in a cosy little game on my Switch.

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