‘Weapons’: Alden Ehrenreich Joins ‘Barbarian’ Director’s Next Horror!!

The arsenal of star power keeps growing for Barbarian director Zach Cregger‘s latest film, Weapons. Collider can confirm that the “multistory horror epic” has added another name to the call sheet — Alden Ehrenreich of Solo: A Star Wars Story fame. He’s set to join a quickly-expanding cast that sees Josh Brolin taking on his first horror role alongside Ozark Emmy winner Julia Garner. The announcement comes as the crew prepares for cameras to roll this May with production expected to continue through June and July.

Weapons is finally kicking into high gear after delays due to the dual Hollywood strikes last year. Before Brolin signed on to play the lead, fan-favorite The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal was set for Cregger‘s much-anticipated follow-up with BAFTA-nominated The Worst Person in the World star Renate Reinsve also initially attached, per The Hollywood Reporter. After pushing things back from its planned late-2023 production start, however, Pascal was unable to remain on the project due to commitments to Marvel‘s Fantastic Four. Even without his and Reinsve‘s presence, the film is building out a stellar group with more announcements expected to come before cameras roll.

Ehrenreich is coming off a busy year featuring roles in Oppenheimer, Cocaine Bear, and Fair Play, as well as his directorial debut short Shadow Brother Sunday. Perhaps best known for taking on the lead role in Solo, he’s next set to join the MCU with the release of the Dominique Thorne-led Ironheart series, which is expected to release in 2024 despite being pulled from Marvel‘s release schedule last year. He also has a spot lined up opposite the great Helen Mirren in Switzerland, which will see her take on the role of author Patricia Highsmith. Weapons will mark a Hail, Caesar! reunion too, as Brolin and Ehrenreich starred in the 2016 Coen Brothers film alongside George Clooney and Ralph Fiennes.

What Is ‘Weapons’ About?

Details about Weapons and its characters are being kept close to the vest ahead of filming, though we have a few indications as to what direction Cregger will go. The film has thus far been compared to the Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia, hinting at a web of interconnected stories and characters related to a central mystery. THR has also heard that it will focus on “the disappearance of high schoolers in a small town.” Anything else at this point is up to speculation, but the fact that it’s being handled by much of the same team that shepherded Barbarian to critical acclaim and box-office success is enough reason to get excited. Cregger writes and directs the film while reuniting to produce the film with Vertigo’s Roy Lee and BoulderLight Pictures’ J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules. Vertigo‘s Miri Yoon will join the group as a producer this time around.