Aunt Gladys reportedly a Weapons prequel, hinting at horror’s next big franchise

Let's talk about the Weapons franchise for a moment — if you caught the first film, you'll remember the absolute standout: Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys, a proper witch who kidnaps kids and uses voodoo to keep herself ticking along. Now Warner Bros. want to dig further into all that unsettling backstory with a prequel, and frankly, it could end up being the studio's next big supernatural money-spinner.

The upcoming Weapons prequel is called Gladys and hits cinemas on 8 September 2028.

The Story So Far

Here's what we know: Zach Cregger, who directed the first Weapons, is on writing duties alongside Zach Shields, but isn't sitting in the director's chair this time. He is, however, sticking around as producer. Amy Madigan — fresh off an Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actress, so she's not messing about — is returning to play Gladys. Warner Bros. have given Gladys a distant, but real, date for release: September 2028. It's not tomorrow, but given the direction they seem to be heading, it might be worth the wait if you like your horror a bit warped.

What Makes Aunt Gladys Special?

Gladys was mostly kept in the shadows in the first film, which just added to the dread whenever she did show up. With this prequel, Cregger and Shields can have a proper rummage through her past — we'll finally see how she became this nightmare-inducing witch who'll do anything (yes, anything) to stay alive. Judging by the franchise's tone so far, we can expect more "twists and turns and mysteries and crazy things" (those are Cregger's own words, by the way — he's not exactly hiding the fact he wants to rattle our cages again). And he reckons there's "an amazing story" lined up for this one.

Gladys could give us a peek at other witches or supernatural sorts lurking in the same universe, maybe even ones with a less child-unfriendly approach to immortality.

So, once you start exploring Aunt Gladys's origins, there are a few ways it could go. She might not be the only one with those nasty talents knocking about. It's wide open for other witches, rival covens, or other supernatural entities — maybe not all of them as evil. This could be Warner Bros. rubbing their hands together imagining a whole new shared universe. Still, Cregger seems to have one eye on staying true to the original — he can either spin it off into endless sequels and spinoffs, or just keep it focused and odd, like the first film.

Weapons could quietly mutate from a horror one-off to a big, mad supernatural franchise for Warner Bros. if they play their cards right — or they could just give us one more brilliantly upsetting tale and leave us to it.