New Line Cinema has won a heated bidding war for Weapons, a new horror-thriller to be written and directed by Zach Cregger (Barbarian). Creggar will also produce alongside his Barbarian team, Roy Lee of Vertigo, and J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules of BoulderLight Pictures.
New Line is reportedly fast-tracking the project, which makes sense after Barbarian was one of the big horror hits of 2022. Its ability to surprise and horrify really captured an audience, so it’s no surprise that Cregger’s next project had plenty of interest.
Unfortunately, the plot for Weapons is under wraps, but word is that the film straddles thriller and horror, on a larger scale. New Line reportedly won the bidding war over Universal, Netflix, and Sony because they guaranteed a theatrical release.
Richard Brener, president and chief creative officer at New Line Cinema, said in a statement:
“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 quick rise to success in the horror genre is somewhat of a surprise, as he was best known as a founding member and writer for New York comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U’Know. The group’s self-titled sketch comedy show ran for five seasons on IFC, and he was also a series regular on Jimmy Fallon‘s NBC series Guys with Kids and the TBS series Wrecked.
But that’s not too dissimilar to another name who went on to become a very successful horror director: Jordan Peele. Before Get Out, he was best known as one half of comedy duo Key & Peele. Now he’s an auteur. We’ll see if Cregger can reach similar heights.
#Peace.Love.Weapons
