In case you missed it, Zach Cregger’s Weapons is a fantastic horror film that just hit the 2025 movie schedule. The film boasts a unique premise and an all-star cast, including Julia Garner, Benedict Wong, Austin Abrams, Alden Ehrenreich, and Josh Brolin. But the final lineup for the unique horror movie could have looked very different — before Brolin came aboard, his role was set for Pedro Pascal. While Pascal had to bow out, he still managed to drop an F-bomb in support of the film’s opening weekend.
How Pedro Celebrated the Movie’s Release
The Fantastic Four: First Steps star marked the occasion on Instagram, posting a playful shoutout to his MCU co-star’s new horror flick and its strong box office debut. In the Story post (shared below), he urged fans to catch the film in theaters, dropping a well-placed F-bomb or two for emphasis.
He tagged Cregger, Garner, and the official Weapons account, making it clear there are zero hard feelings, just plenty of love for a project he clearly still believes in.
Why Pascal Had To Drop Out Of The Horror Movie
Weapons was almost a very different looking flick, as it had nearly a completely different cast. Thanks to the twin Hollywood shutdowns of 2023 — the SAG-AFTRA strike (July 14–Nov 9) and the WGA strike (May 2–Sept 27) — the production was brought to a complete standstill. By the time Weapons could gear back up, the film’s shooting schedule was in shambles. Writer-director Zach Cregger recently told Entertainment Weekly:
I had a whole different cast for this movie… And then we had the strike, and then Pedro Pascal's schedule threw us into turmoil. I had to recast the entire movie.
Of the original four, only Abrams carried over, now playing James, a homeless man hooked on drugs. Cregger filled the Pascal void with Josh Brolin and rounded out the new ensemble with Alden Ehrenreich as local cop Paul, Amy Madigan, and Julia Garner as Ms. Justine Gandy, the teacher whose entire class disappears one night at 2:17 a.m.
Weapons Lives Up To All The Hype
Like the insanity that was Barbarian, Weapons hooks you with a chilling premise: 17 children from the same Pennsylvania classroom wake in the dead of night, quietly leave their homes, and vanish without a trace. What unfolds is equal parts mystery and nightmare, with a nonlinear structure reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s 1990s classic Pulp Fiction. Judging by its strong opening weekend, Zach Cregger’s sophomore feature is already living up to the buzz.
While fans may always wonder what Pascal’s version of Archer would have looked like — especially in a year that already has him juggling multiple “dad” roles — his F-bomb rallying cry feels like a genuine endorsement. He’s just traded the lead role for a seat in the audience.
Weapons is now playing exclusively in theaters. Also, be sure to check out our schedule of upcoming horror movies that are headed to the 2026 movie schedule and a theater near you.
