After Elizabeth Olsen and Rooney Mara turned down the lead role in Zach Cregger’s mysterious new movie “Weapons”, we got the news that “Worst Person in the World” actress Renate Reinsve had been cast in that role.
Now, Daniel Richtman is reporting that the full cast includes the likes of Pedro Pascal, Brian Tyree Henry, Tom Burke, Austin Abrams and June Diane Raphael.
The film has been all the buzz in Hollywood these last few months. What I had learned was that the film is said to revolve around “witchcraft and missing children” and will be told via multi and inter-related stories. The screenplay is very thick and, as we speak, could result in a 3 hour movie.
Obviously, Warner Bros and New Line are very confident about this one, they won a bidding war that involved multiple other studios and snatched it up for an 8-figure sum. My sources have been telling me “Weapons” screenplay is the real deal and is nothing short of astonishing.
Back in January, there was reporting of studios going on a bidding war for “Barbarian” director Cregger’s next film. Warner Bros. and New Line ended up nabbing the rights to the film, an acquisition said to be in the 8-figure range.
A July production date was set for “Weapons,” which is being described as a multi and inter-related horror epic that tonally is in the same style as “Magnolia.” With the actors strike, it’s most probably been delayed.
The studio is clearly hoping that Cregger becomes a significant horror name in the coming years, in the same vein as Peele, Aster and Eggers. Maybe he will. The film market is currently bustling with horror successes, so investing in an up and coming, and promising, young filmmaker is a smart move.
Cregger turned a lot of heads this past September when “Barbarian” became a critical and commercial success. All this on a skimp $4.5 million budget. “Barbarian” was Cregger’s feature directing debut, his previous work included being in a comedy troupe called The Whitest Kids U Know, so, yeah, nobody really saw this impressive debut coming.