Call it witchcraft, the power of positive thinking, or the magic of a shiny new Oscar, but Zach Cregger’s Weapons prequel about Aunt Gladys is finally official. Given Weapons‘ popularity and the breakout status of Amy Madigan’s character—including Madigan’s recent Academy Awards triumph for Best Supporting Actress—a follow-up felt inevitable, but it was never guaranteed. Now, we know it’s in the works, and it even has the perfect working title: Gladys.
Cregger has been talking about expanding Gladys’ story since Weapons hit theaters in August last summer, and no doubt the powers that be (correctly) decided fans were eager to learn more about the character. In Weapons, she arrives to splatter chaos all over her extended family members, then expands her damage path to inflict terror on an entire town. And she does it all while rocking an array of luridly bright fashions, except when she’s in her more ghoulish makeover-in-progress mode.
While Weapons is full of chilling imagery, Gladys’ lipstick-smeared smile and baby bangs were without a doubt among the most memorable, and she also anchored its most terrifying scenes, including her agonizing (for her) and cathartic (for the audience) death at the end of the movie. But she’ll still be very much alive in the prequel, which Deadline reports will be co-written by Cregger and Zach Shields (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Krampus).
Deadline doesn’t say, but you have to assume Madigan will return to reprise her Oscar-winning role. There’s no Gladys without her! Before he can dig into her past—presumably filled with water bowls, violent spells, hypnotism, misdirection, track suits, and who knows what else—Cregger will be busy with his Resident Evil movie, which hits theaters in September.
What are you hoping to see in the Aunt Gladys prequel?
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