Zack Shields (Godzilla x Kong: New Empire) has been named co-writer of the script along with filmmaker Zack Cregger as the story of beloved Weapons character Aunt Gladys continues in the highly anticipated prequel film.
“Gladys” is the working title for New Line and Warner Bros. Pictures, and has been in the works for several months following the box office and critical success of the horror film. Weapons grossed an astonishing $270 million worldwide and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for star Amy Madigan, who played the diabolically deranged character. (Madigan also won the SAG-AFTRA Award for Best Actor and the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress, and was nominated for awards such as the Golden Globe Award.)
At the Oscars ceremony, Madigan expressed his excitement to reprise his role in the prequel, regardless of when the project ultimately comes to fruition. “We know how long things take,” she told reporters at the ceremony. “We know what this business is like, and the timing and all that stuff, nothing is true until it happens. But if it works out, that’s great, because I trust Zach (Creger) and he’s got a lot of crazy ideas.”
It’s not yet known exactly what the story of the “Gladys” prequel will be. Still, the backstory on how Gladys kidnaps children and transforms into a parasitic witch who rocks a distinctive “crazy grandma” style with ginger curls and glasses is welcome. (After all, Gladys’ quirky look was one of the top Halloween costumes of 2025.)
The Oscar win was also significant in that it signaled that the industry broadly considers the horror genre unfairly “viewed the same way you would watch little kids on Thanksgiving.” But the data proves that horror sells tickets. New Line’s horror titles alone will generate more than $1 billion in global box office revenue in 2025. (The company is behind the $3 billion horror series: The Conjuring universe ($2.8 billion), the IT movies ($1.2 billion), and the Final Destination series ($1 billion).
Cregger, whose “Resident Evil” movie is scheduled to be released in September this year, and Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Miri Yun will return to produce the new film.
Shields’ hiring continues his long-term relationship with Warner Bros. after working on multiple Godzilla and Kong projects. He recently worked on WB and Legendary’s “Godzilla x Kong: New Empire” and was a consulting producer on the Apple TV series “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.” Prior to that, he co-wrote Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Universal’s Krampus with Michael Dougherty. In television, Shields served as co-executive producer on Apple’s The Lady of the Lake, starring Natalie Portman and directed by Alma Ha’el.
Mr. Kreger is repped by CAA, Artists First, Karl Austin and Michael Auerbach. Shields is repped by Range Media Partners and Hersh Wallerstein Hayum Matloff and Fishman.
Deadline first reported Shields’ hiring.
Zach Shields and Zach Creger
Shields: Hama Sanders / Cregger: Variety Representative Gilbert Flores
