Aunt Gladys Weapons prequel movie gets encouraging update as release date gets closer

If you were wondering whether the Aunt Gladys prequel spin-off might still happen amid all the studio merger drama, there’s actually some good news for fans of Zach Cregger’s strange little horror universe. We’ve got a genuine progress update — and, bizarrely, it sounds more sorted than you’d expect, considering recent studio upheaval.

Gladys is currently scheduled to open in cinemas on 8 September 2028.

Project update: scripts, release date, and who’s steering the ship

So here’s what’s happening. The Gladys prequel — spun off from Cregger’s Weapons, which came out last year — is alive and well at Skydance. If you’ve been following along, you’ll know there was some doubt about this one after Paramount swooped in and bought up Warner Bros., leaving a few inherited projects teetering on the edge of oblivion. According to Deadline, the script for Gladys is close to its final draft stage, with development ‘proceeding smoothly’. Once that’s done, Skydance will be on the hunt for a director — importantly, it’s already settled that Zach Cregger himself isn’t coming back to direct this time, so there’s no chance of suddenly changing course at the last minute.

The release date is a fairly fixed late-summer spot: Gladys hits UK cinemas 8 September 2028, just a month after Cregger’s next one, The Flood. If everything runs on schedule, Gladys could have a pretty tidy window and avoid tripping over its own creator at the box office. For anyone wondering who’s actually in control now: Skydance’s co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein have been handed the keys to all the legacy Warner Bros. films in play, sifting through what survives the acquisition shake-up.

What’s actually in the Aunt Gladys prequel?

When Cregger first built out Weapons, he did toy with the idea of dropping Aunt Gladys’ backstory directly into that film. That idea was binned during production, but after Weapons pulled in unexpectedly strong numbers at the box office, Warner Bros. and New Line started poking around at prequel territory instead. Cregger, for his part, is promising plenty of ‘twists and turns and mysteries and crazy things’ — which frankly sounds about right, considering the chaos of the main film.

The returning cast is also taking shape in a pleasingly straightforward way. Cregger has stated that for Gladys, there will be no ‘young Aunt Gladys’ angle. Instead, he wants Amy Madigan, who played the role with scenery-chewing glee in Weapons, back for the prequel too. The acclaimed actress seems keen, which makes sense, as she’s picked up both a Critics' Choice Award and an Oscar for the part — not something you see every day for a horror performance. No word yet on other cast announcements, though, so if you were hoping for a full ensemble breakdown, you’ll need to wait a bit longer.

How does this all fit in the Cregger-verse?

Weapons was a surprise critical hit, nabbing a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score and ranking as Cregger’s second-best reviewed film so far. Since then, Cregger’s been busy jumping genres: he just directed Resident Evil, which quietly stacked up over $250 million at the box office. Next up for him is The Flood, starring Jennifer Lawrence (which, if nothing else, gives us some indication of the clout he’s working with these days). The fact that Gladys is landing in cinemas right after The Flood suggests Skydance and the studios see potential in this oddball horror universe — or at the very least, they’re simply keen to keep that momentum rolling for as long as possible.