After a three-year hiatus, Zach Cregger returns with a gripping horror film titled Weapons, following his successful debut with Barbarian. The film, which was released in theaters on August 8, 2025, carries a poignant connection to Cregger’s personal life. On August 6, 2021, he tragically lost his long-time collaborator and dear friend, Trevor Moore. This release coincides closely with the anniversary of Moore’s untimely passing, marking a significant moment in Cregger’s journey of grief. He revealed to Polygon that the process of creating Weapons served as an essential tool in navigating his feelings of loss and sorrow.

“I’m still digesting it. It still feels like it just happened. You just have all this emotion, and it’s better for me to just start writing characters that are feeling the emotions I’m feeling and letting them go kind of crazy and bounce off each other and do everything I can’t do. It feels good. It was cathartic.”

Before making his mark in the horror genre, Cregger and Moore were renowned for their roles in the comedy sketch group, The Whitest Kids U’Know. The interplay between comedy and horror is a hallmark of Cregger’s work, and he successfully blended these elements in both Barbarian and Weapons.

Crafting ‘Weapons’: A Personal Journey of Healing

As Zach Cregger embarked on the writing process for Weapons, his mental state was notably different compared to his approach with Barbarian. Cregger initially began the script for his first film with a scene that included every conceivable red flag to set the tone. As he developed Weapons, he found himself exploring themes of absence and despair, beginning with an eerie classroom void of children, raising questions about their fate. This initial idea evolved to include Josh Brolin’s portrayal of a distressed father desperately seeking answers, coupled with a teacher grappling with the disappearance of their entire class.

While writing, Cregger admitted that he initially had no clear understanding of the children’s disappearance, but as the narrative progressed to its midpoint, the reason became apparent. This writing process was cathartic for him, allowing characters to express the darker emotions he was wrestling with as he guided their stories. Cregger drew inspiration from various sources, including the unconventional storytelling found in Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed film Magnolia, which influenced the film’s early sequences and its multiple perspectives. Yet, throughout Weapons, an overwhelming sense of loss permeates the narrative, making it not just a sequel to Barbarian, but a profound continuation of Cregger’s artistic journey. Fans can experience Cregger’s second feature film, Weapons, in theaters starting August 8, 2025.