Amy Madigan Taps the Brakes on Weapons Prequel Hype
Amy Madigan is game to reprise Aunt Gladys in a Weapons prequel, but she’s keeping expectations in check—for now, it’s strictly wait-and-see.
Horror fans really showed up for Zach Cregger's Weapons. Critics dug it too — JoBlo's Chris Bumbray handed it a 9/10 — and the movie did solid business. That combo was enough to kick off studio chatter about turning this into a full-blown franchise, starting with a prequel built around one very peculiar character: Aunt Gladys.
So... is the prequel actually happening?
Here is where the messaging gets a little whiplashy. Amy Madigan, who plays Aunt Gladys, told Entertainment Weekly the classic industry line: "nothing's real 'til it's real." Then Cregger spoke to Fangoria and said, very plainly: "It is real." Cut to now, and Madigan is still riding the brakes, telling The Hollywood Reporter that we might just "have to wait and see" if cameras ever roll.
"Zach has a map of what he would like to do. But as we know about this business — until it's real, it's not real. It would be such a blast, and it would be really great if we could revisit her in some way. I'm excited about that possibility... So much business is involved in that, which I'm not involved in, so we'll all just have to wait and see."
Translation: Warner Bros. and New Line have been talking to Cregger about an Aunt Gladys prequel, he wants to do it, but the greenlight is not in hand yet. The enthusiasm is there; the paperwork is not.
Why Aunt Gladys?
Cregger originally wrote a lot more for Gladys — an entire chapter of backstory, in fact — but cut it to keep Weapons from running long. He even told Vanity Fair that he gave Madigan two different origin tracks to choose from for how she played the role. Option one: Gladys is a regular person dabbling in dark magic to treat an illness. Option two: she is not human at all, and the makeup and wig are an awkward attempt to pass as one of us. If the prequel happens, that mystery finally gets an answer.
What Weapons is actually about
Before release, the movie was kept under unusually tight wraps. The pitch was essentially an interconnected, multi-story horror piece with a vibe closer to Magnolia than a straightforward slasher. The core hook: in a small town, all but one kid from the same elementary school class disappears on the same night at the exact same time, and the whole community is left trying to figure out who — or what — is responsible.
The cast that made it work
- Amy Madigan (Antlers)
- Julia Garner (Ozark)
- Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men)
- Alden Ehrenreich (Solo)
- Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange)
- Austin Abrams (Euphoria)
- June Diane Raphael (Grace and Frankie)
- Cary Christopher (Days of Our Lives)
Where this leaves us
Cregger says it is real. Madigan says calm down. The studios are clearly interested after the warm reception and healthy box office, and Aunt Gladys has enough leftover material to justify her own movie. Personally, those two backstory options are wild enough that I would watch either version. Until the suits actually lock it in, though, file this under: very likely, not official.
"It is real."
Your turn: are you saving a seat for an Aunt Gladys prequel, or waiting for the ink to dry?