Look, I love a good sequel as much as the next person. I’ll definitely be there for “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” I’m curious (and a little nervous) about” 28 Years Later,” and of course I’m going to see “Jurassic World Rebirth” because dinosaurs are still cool.
But with summer 2025 absolutely stacked with sequels, spinoffs, and reboots, it’s starting to feel like original stories are getting pushed to the sidelines. That’s why “Weapons” has quietly taken the top spot as my most anticipated movie of the summer.
We don’t know a ton about it yet, and honestly, that’s part of the appeal. It’s the latest from Zach Cregger, the writer/director of “Barbarian” (a.k.a one of the wildest horror surprises in recent memory). And while there’s been speculation that “Weapons” might exist in the same universe, it’s not a sequel but instead a self-contained story with new characters, a new mystery, and a completely different tone.
That makes it feel fresh, even if there are some connective threads. It’s being described as a “multi-story horror epic in the vein of Magnolia… but scary.” That’s all I needed to hear.
Maybe it’ll be brilliant, maybe it’ll be a mess. But either way, I want more movies that take risks. And right now, “Weapons” feels like one of the boldest bets of the summer. Here’s why it’s at the top of my list.
Among the giants, one original horror movie dares to be different
Horror has always been my favorite genre, so it’s no surprise that “Weapons” immediately caught my eye. But it’s not just the genre — it’s how this movie presents itself. The first trailer didn’t give too much away, which I honestly found refreshing. These days, it feels like most trailers lay out the entire plot beat-for-beat, but “Weapons” knows how to keep things very mysterious.
More than anything, “Weapons” feels like a breath of fresh, eerie air in a summer packed with franchise fare. Original horror movies (especially ones with big casts and wide releases) don’t get nearly as much attention as they deserve. And yet here’s a movie with a killer premise and major talent behind it.
The setup is simple but chilling: an entire classroom of children vanishes at the exact same time — except for one. But what really has my attention is how confidently this horror-thriller is carving out its own identity. Even with whispers that it may connect to “Barbarian,” it’s not riding coattails, but instead it's forging its own, strange, unsettling path.
Warner Bros. Pictures is clearly going all in on “Weapons,” and it shows. They’ve launched a cryptic website that unpacks pieces of the story like a digital breadcrumb trail, almost like an ARG, in the spirit of the “Blair Witch Project” or “Cloverfield” marketing.
There’s even a short faux news clip referencing the events of “Barbarian,” which hints that the two movies might exist in the same universe. Nothing’s confirmed, but the connections are fun to spot and they add a layer of intrigue without giving the game away. It’s the kind of promo that trusts the audience to lean in and engage, not just sit back and be spoon-fed spoilers.
And then there’s the cast that adds to this movie’s appeal. Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong… this isn’t your average horror ensemble. The fact that they signed on tells me this script isn’t playing it safe.
Cregger, when speaking with Entertainment Weekly, said: “That mystery is going to propel you through at least half of the movie, but that is not the movie. The movie will fork and change and reinvent and go in new places. It doesn’t abandon that question, believe me, but that’s not the whole movie at all. By the midpoint, we've moved on to way crazier s*** than that.”
Movies like “Weapons” don’t usually get the biggest budget or the loudest campaign, but they’re often the ones people end up talking about months later. It’s refreshing to see something that isn’t just a continuation of something else, and I hope audiences make room for it between all the big-name reboots. Because if we want more original stories, we need to show up for them.
So yeah, bring on the dinosaurs and the spies — but I’ll be saving my real excitement for the weird little horror epic tucked away in August.
"Weapons" hits theaters on August 8, 2025.
