At exactly 2:17 a.m., something unimaginable happened. Every child in Mrs. Gandy’s class woke up, left their beds, walked out into the night… and vanished. None of them ever came back.

This chilling premise anchors the official trailer for Weapons, the upcoming horror film from Barbarian director Zach Cregger. The film hits theaters August 8, 2025.

New Line Cinema has released the official synopsis:

“When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.”

Like Barbarian, Weapons is steeped in mystery. The trailer offers minimal plot details, opting instead to build tension and dread — a tactic that mirrors Cregger’s storytelling philosophy. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the director hints that the mystery driving the film is just the beginning.

“That mystery is going to propel you through at least half of the movie, but that is not the movie,” says Cregger. “The movie will fork and change and reinvent and go in new places… By the midpoint, we’ve moved on to way crazier shit than that.”

Cregger describes Weapons as a “horror epic,” one that surpasses Barbarian in both scale and ambition.

“It’s more ambitious in almost every way — not just in budget, but creatively,” he explains. “The story is weirder, it’s twistier, and it’s bigger. The set pieces are definitely bigger. It’s just a bigger, weirder movie.”

And there’s more — Weapons may even share a universe with Barbarian, though the details remain under wraps.

For those ready to dive deeper into the mystery, the viral site MaybrookMissing.com offers an eerie breadcrumb trail to follow.

The film boasts a star-studded cast, including Josh Brolin (Dune: Part Two), Julia Garner (The Royal Hotel), Alden Ehrenreich (Cocaine Bear), Benedict Wong (3 Body Problem), Amy Madigan (Antlers), Austin Abrams (Euphoria), and Cary Christopher (Days of Our Lives).

Cregger wrote and directed the film, and also serves as a producer alongside Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, J.D. Lifshitz, and Raphael Margules. Executive producers include Michelle Morrissey and Josh Brolin.

The creative team features cinematographer Larkin Seiple, production designer Tom Hammock, editor Joe Murphy, and costume designer Trish Sommerville. The music is composed by Ryan Holladay, Hays Holladay, and Cregger himself.

Weapons is a Subconscious/Vertigo Entertainment/Boulderlight Pictures production presented by New Line Cinema. Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute the film in theaters and IMAX nationwide on August 8, 2025, with an international rollout beginning the same month.