Zach Cregger Wants 'Weapons' Gladys Prequel To "Stand On Its Own"

With one of the biggest horror movies of the year, Zach Cregger wants his upcoming prequel to Weapons to be its own beast.

The writer/director recently teased the spin-off about the mysterious Aunt Gladys ( Amy Madigan ), which he confirmed last month is in development , admitting he’s considered whether unpacking the villain’s origin story would ruin the movie’s mystique.

“It’s crossed my mind,” Cregger told TheWrap after Gladys was originally set for her own chapter in the first film. “But I think that the Gladys story is such an interesting story that I think it’s going to feel very separate and stand on its own two feet, and I don’t think it’s going to diminish Weapons .”

In Weapons , all but one child in Justine Gandy’s (Julia Garner) third-grade class goes missing