Zach Cregger's Upcoming Movie Made Jordan Peele Fire His Managers Amid $38M Bidding War
The script for Weapons from Zach Cregger, who previously made Barbarian was so good that losing a bidding war for it forced Jordan Peele to fire his managers. Here are all the details we know about the drama and the movie itself.
The biggest breakthrough of 2022 was undoubtedly Zach Cregger's debut as a director with his horror Barbarian.
A twisted plot, truly frightening effects, and a unique structure made Barbarian one of the most outstanding horror films of the 2020s and Zach Cregger became one of the most promising young directors in the genre.
Cregger's next movie, Weapons, is coming soon and is interesting not only for its concept and plot, but also for the drama that unfolds around it.
Zach Cregger's Weapons Was Sold for a Whopping $38 Million
In 2023, Zach Cregger made history: his script for the movie Weapons was sold for $38 million. Many studios participated in the auction for Weapons, but the highest bids were made by Universal with Jordan Peele's company Monkeypaw and New Line Cinema.
Peele was so eager to buy the project that he agreed to give up some of his contractual percentage of the box office – his bid was only $7 million less than New Line's offer.
Jordan Peele Fired His Management Due to Losing the Bidding War
Jordan Peele took the loss so hard that he fired his management. His interests were represented by Joel Zadak and Peter Principato, the latter of whom also represents Cregger.
Presumably, Peele was confident that he would have an easy time negotiating with Cregger. Firing management is a serious move, as it was Zadak and Principato who discovered Peele and signed him back in the days of his comedy career.
Even more surprising is that Barbarian is Cregger's debut as a director and screenwriter, and Weapons is his only second feature film.
Weapons Plot, Cast, Release Date & Everything We Know
On April 29, Warner Bros. finally released the trailer for Weapons. The plot revolves around a strange event in the fictional town of Maybrook: at 2:17 a.m., 17 children suddenly leave their homes and disappear without a trace.
Julia Garner stars as Justine Gandy, a schoolteacher confronted with the disappearance of her entire class. Josh Brolin plays Archer Graff, the father of one of the missing children, and Alden Ehrenreich portrays a local police officer.
Warner Bros. has launched MaybrookMissing.com, a website designed to look like a real news feed of missing children, to further immerse you in the movie.
The site also mentions a connection to the characters in Barbarian, fueling rumors of an expanded universe, though Cregger hasn't directly confirmed it.
Weapons is scheduled for release on August 8, 2025.
