Weapons' Aunt Gladys Prequel Movie Is Suddenly Less Exciting

Published Sep 7, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT ​​August is a freelance film writer. She studied journalism and cinema at American University. She is a member of the journalism honor society, Kappa Tau Alpha. August has written for various networks and publications, including PBS, Gargoyle Magazine, TheThings, and Identity Theory Magazine. Before returning to entertainment writing, August worked in the Automotive section of U.S. News & World Report. In her free time, August enjoys watching movies in theaters, watching movies at home, listening to podcasts about movies, reading books about movies, watching video essays on movies, talking about movies, thinking about movies, and doing crosswords. Zach Cregger’s Weapons was a hit in 2025. The Warner Bros. feature grossed $270 million at the worldwide box office, over seven times its budget. It received swift and sweeping praise for its well-crafted narrative and mesmerizing performances. One character in particular took moviegoers by storm - Aunt Gladys. Aunt Gladys inspired parodies, cosplays, and Halloween costumes following the release of Weapons. The witchy antagonist wears vibrant clothing that looks as if it would smell of moth balls. Her clown-like makeup bleeds around her lips and eyes and her bright orange wig sits too far back on her head. Outside of her attire, she is a compelling central character and the perfect blend of entertaining and terrifying. Amy Madigan's performance as Aunt Gladys won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. On April 1, 2026—a month after Madigan’s Oscar win - Deadline reported that Aunt Glayds was getting her own film. The prequel, Glayds, is in development and has a release date of September 8, 2028. The idea of a Gladys movie is both thrilling and nerve wracking, as it is easy to get wrong. Cregger’s recent, disappointing update on the film’s script already tempers excitement for the coming prequel. Zach Cregger Not Writing Weapons' Prequel Is Disappointing Weapons writer/director Cregger revealed that he is not writing the Gladys screenplay, in a September 4 interview with Deadline. “Oh, actually, Zach Shields is writing [Gladys],” Cregger told Deadline. “I was developing the story with him, but he’s writing it.” Zach Shields is known for Krampus (2015) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). While Cregger helped develop the story, he felt that he did not have the time or streamlined writing process that the project required. The writer-director described his process as “broken,” saying he would write a script then leave it for a while before going back and adding to it as inspiration sparked and time allowed. When it came to a highly-anticipated follow-up to an Oscar-winning movie, he needed someone who could write on a tight deadline. As such, the Gladys movie will be missing Cregger’s unique voice, which was a major component of Weapons' success. This is a tough update to an already precarious production, as it will be difficult for an outside writer to hit the perfect tone. Weapons' Aunt Gladys Prequel Was Already A Challenge To Get Right Prior to this update, Gladys already posed great challenges. The secret to the success of both Weapons and the central antagonist was nuance, complexity, and originality. An Aunt Gladys movie made in reaction to the cultural response to this character risks becoming an artificial caricature or reflection—losing the intricacies that made her intriguing. This was the unfortunate fate of The Nun. This terrifying and mysterious figure in The Conjuring 2 intrigued audiences enough to earn her own film. However, The Nun removed any mystery or nuance to the character and the prequel fell flat—with a dismal 24% on Rotten Tomatoes. In Weapons, the mystery of Gladys’ character largely contributes to her allure, making a ‘tell all’ origin story potentially problematic. The promise of another Madigan performance is still enticing, but if her role is recast, all hope for the film's success may be lost. Why The Aunt Gladys Prequel Can Still Work Despite Creeger’s minimal involvement, there is certainly still hope for the success of Gladys. While the Weapons writer-director is not penning the Gladys script, he did help develop the story. This means audiences can expect insight into Aunt Gladys' origin story directly from the mind of her creator, making the feature intriguing. Creeger's decision to hand this script to someone who could afford it dedicated time and attention also bodes well for the project. The Weapons creator has expressed his own excitement for the developing prequel, and he would certainly not allow an imperfect or inauthentic product to be produced. While an origin story may lose some of Aunt Gladys’ mystery, the character is thoroughly fascinating and certainly offers plenty of fodder for a feature-length exploration. The promise of more Aunt Gladys fashion alone is a reason to maintain some excitement for the upcoming Weapons prequel. Release Date August 8, 2025 Runtime 128 minutes Director Zach Cregger Writers Zach Cregger Producers Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, J.D. Lifshitz