If you’ve seen Weapons, chances are one name still haunts you: Aunt Gladys. The unnerving matriarch with a whispery drawl, lipsticked snarl, and eyes that seemed to know too much.
Well, buckle up horror fans—because Aunt Gladys might be coming back. Or, rather, we might be going back to her.
According to reports from The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Rant, a prequel film centered on the mysterious, terrifying, and strangely fabulous Gladys is officially in early development. And if all goes well, it’ll take us back to the 1800s to reveal exactly who—or what—she really is.
“She Wasn’t Supposed to Be That Important…”
Originally, Gladys wasn’t even meant to steal the show. Director Zach Cregger, of Barbarian fame, had imagined her as a supporting player in the disturbing anthology of Weapons. But after Amy Madigan’s deeply unsettling performance (equal parts horror and high camp), audiences couldn’t get enough. Suddenly, the internet was flooded with memes, GIFs, TikToks, and conspiracy theories about Gladys’s past—and her not-quite-human vibe.
“She was never meant to be the icon of the movie,” one exec told THR. “But once Amy showed up in that makeup, it was game over.”
And let’s be real: Madigan ate. It was the kind of role that lives on in your head long after the credits roll—like the Babadook’s evil aunt who drinks black coffee with blood and steals your soul with a polite smile.
A Witch? A Demon? A Woman Scorned?
In the film, Gladys is an elderly woman caring for her terminally ill nephew—but her behavior is just off. Like… WAY off. She speaks in riddles. She burns things at night. And there’s that unforgettable monologue about “the veil lifting at the hour of decay.” Shivers.
Now, the prequel would reportedly rewind the clock over a century to show Gladys’s origin story—a time when superstition, small-town hysteria, and generational trauma intersected in ways we don’t quite understand yet.
Cregger hinted that the movie would feel “very different” from Weapons—more of a gothic, slow-burn psychological horror rooted in folklore and paranoia. Think The Witch meets The Others… with a dash of Misery.
Amy Madigan’s Not Done Yet
And yes—Amy Madigan is down to return.
While the 74-year-old Emmy nominee has remained fairly low-key since Weapons dropped, she recently told Entertainment Weekly that she’d be “absolutely thrilled” to revisit the character. “She’s one of the most delicious, disturbing things I’ve ever played,” she said. “Gladys still has more to say. And do.”
Chilling.
What’s Next?
Here’s the catch: The film isn’t officially greenlit yet. Cregger is currently tied up with a new Resident Evil reboot and a hush-hush DC project. But insiders say Warner Bros. and New Line are watching the numbers—and fan buzz—very closely.
And so far? The numbers are screaming. Weapons pulled in over $149 million globally on a modest $38 million budget, and Gladys is trending daily on horror Reddit and TikTok.
If that momentum holds, we could see production kick off as early as next year—with a 2027 release very much in play.
The Final Word
In a horror landscape crowded with franchises, slashers, and supernatural fatigue, Weapons did something rare: it gave us a fresh mythology and a villain we genuinely don’t understand yet.
So, should we fear Aunt Gladys? Pity her? Worship her?
Let’s just say… if she’s coming back, we’ll be watching. Candle lit. Door locked.
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