New Line Cinema has acquired the original screenplay Weapons from the filmmaking team behind the award-winning horror hit Barbarian, BD has learned this afternoon.
Moving full speed ahead toward a theatrical release, production is anticipated to commence later this year. The upcoming Weapons is from writer/director Zach Cregger, who will also produce alongside his Barbarian producing team: Roy Lee of Vertigo and J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules of BoulderLight Pictures. Vertigo’s Miri Yoon also produces.
The Hollywood Reporter teases, “Plot details for Weapons are being kept holstered but it is described as a multi and inter-related story horror epic that tonally is in the vein of Magnolia, the 1999 actor-crammed showcase from filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.”
Richard Brener, President and Chief Creative Officer, New Line Cinema, stated, “Zach proved with ‘Barbarian’ that he can create a visceral theatrical experience for audiences and that he commands every tool in the filmmaker toolbelt. We couldn’t be happier that he, Roy and Miri, and J.D. and Rafi chose New Line to be the home of his next film, and hope it is the first of many to come.”
Cregger’s debut solo outing as a writer/director, Barbarian premiered at San Diego Comic-Con, igniting critical raves and widespread buzz before its September 2022 theatrical bow. The stunning chiller topped the domestic box office on its opening weekend with $10.5 million, more than double its production budget of $4.5 million, and ultimately took in more than $45 million worldwide.
Cregger was a founding member and writer for the New York comedy troupe “The Whitest Kids U’Know,” which he started while attending The School of Visual Arts. The award-winning group’s self-titled sketch comedy show ran for five seasons on IFC-TV and Fuse. He was also a series regular on Jimmy Fallon’s NBC series “Guys with Kids” and the TBS hit series “Wrecked,” and was featured in a recurring role on the NBC series “About a Boy.”
Weapons will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.