Weapons (2025): Release date, cast, plot, and everything we know so far

Weapons is an upcoming horror flick by director Zach Cregger. He is best known for his critically acclaimed debut film, Barbarian (2022), which impressed horror fans all over the world.

He is back now with Weapons, which was originally slated to be released on Martin Luther King weekend, 2026. However, production has been moved up, and the film will now be released on Friday, August 8, 2025, in the United States.

The plot for the film has been kept under wraps so far, although a short trailer was shown to the audience at CinemaCon on April 1, 2025, by director Cregger.

He revealed that this exclusive footage will not be made public and gave a very cryptic description of the movie, saying:

"It’s a twisty, turny movie."

Keep reading for more details.

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Weapons plot - What we know so far

As mentioned before, the plot is being kept mysterious and under wraps, although a teaser image showing the time "2.17" on a digital clock at night was recently unveiled. This relates to the footage that was screened at CinemaCon, where it was revealed that this was the time when all the kids from a particular classroom disappeared.

The footage shown at CinemaCon featured the mysterious disappearance of all the students from the class of the small-town elementary school teacher, Mrs. Gandy (Julia Garner), and the frantic desperation of the parents thereafter. The ominous voiceover by a little girl claimed:

"Mrs. Gandy’s room was totally empty. Because the night before, at 2:17 a.m., every kid woke up, got out of bed, walked downstairs and into the dark and they never came back."

The footage then shifted into true horror territory, showing the children coming back as zombie-like apparitions, with hollow eyes and creepy smiles, and tumbling into the pitch-black night. The creepy and disturbing teaser finally ended with a figure being shown hiding deep in the heart of the woods.

While inviting Cregger up to the stage at CinemaCon, the chief of New Line Cinema, Richard Brener, described the film as:

"Intriguing and unpredictable, with a nice helping of batshit insane. We think you’ll appreciate the ride."

Following the success of Cregger's Barbarian, expectations from Weapons are sky-high. The initial footage indicates the film will have an overall atmosphere of unrest and horror, as clear from the upsetting images shown in the teaser, including bloody and exploding heads.

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Weapons - Cast, crew, and production

Josh Brolin at the Oscars in 2011 (image via Getty)

In May 2023, Pedro Pascal was originally cast in the film. However, upon his departure due to previous commitments, Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame) has stepped in and taken his place.

Apart from Brolin, the cast list includes several well-known names, including:

• Julia Garner as Justine Gandy
• Toby Huss as Captain Ed
• Clayton Farris as Terry
• Alden Ehrenreich
• June Diane Raphael
• Benedict Wong
• Amy Madigan
• Austin Abrams
• Cary Christopher
• Whitmer Thomas
• Luke Speakman

Cregger's wife, Sara Paxton, will also reportedly make a cameo in Weapons, similar to the one she made in Barbarian, according to ScreenRant (December 7, 2024). The film has an expected running time of 2 hours and 20 minutes, as per an article by Worldofreel, dated December 4, 2024.

Filming for the movie began in May 2024 and ended in July 2024. Weapons is produced by Roy Lee and Miri Yoon for Vertigo Entertainment, New Line Cinema, and BoulderLight Pictures. It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Besides directing, Zach Cregger is also writing and producing the film, which boasts an overall budget of $38 million.

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Catch the movie in theaters from August 8, 2025, and watch this space for further updates.