Alden Ehrenreich Joins Zach Cregger’s ‘Guns’

Advance:

• Alden Ehrenreich joins ‘Armas’.
• It’s the new horror movie from Zach Cregger from ‘Barbarian’.
• Josh Brolin and Julia Garner are also in the cast.

Since his hit film, the 2022 horror film ‘Barbarian’ generated quite a stir for its complicated and intense structure and grossed $45 million worldwide (which doesn’t sound like much, but it was 10 times its production budget ), it’s not difficult It’s surprising that writer-director Zach Cregger has seen a lot of studio interest in his follow-up.

New Line jumped at the chance to make the new movie, called ‘Weapons,’ and Cregger has been slowly building his cast, with Josh Brolin, Julia Garner and now Alden Ehrenreich on board.

What is the story of ‘Armas’?

Neither Cregger nor New Line have been particularly forthcoming about a plot for ‘Weapons’ that we can understand; After all, ‘Barbarian,’ about an Airbnb stay that goes horribly wrong, worked because people didn’t know what to expect.

What we’ve learned so far is that ‘Armas’ has been compared to Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Magnolia’, hinting at a web of interconnected stories and characters related to a central mystery.

The Hollywood Reporter has also heard which will focus on “the disappearance of high school students in a small town.”

But whatever it is, the concept is clearly intriguing enough that studios and streamers offered to buy it sight unseen when it was announced that Cregger had a new script in the works. New Line emerged triumphant, guaranteeing him a big payday, a guaranteed green light, and a final cut.

Here’s what New Line President and CCO Richard Brener said in a statement:

“Zach demonstrated with ‘Barbarian’ that he can create a visceral theatrical experience for the audience and that he has mastered all the tools of the filmmaker. We couldn’t be happier that he, Roy Lee and Miri Yoon, JD Lifshitz and Rafi Margules chose New Line as the home of his next film, and we hope it’s the first of many to come.”

Cregger has been in pre-production on the film and filming is scheduled to begin in May.

Has the casting process for ‘Armas’ been complicated?

You bet! Thanks to the film’s development having to be delayed due to writer and actor strikes, there have been some changes on the casting front. While ‘The Worst Person in the World’ Pedro Pascal and Renate Reinsve were linked at one point, both have since had to move on to other projects (Pascal is a particularly busy man with ‘The Last of Us’ season 2 underway and working on Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four’ on his to-do list).

Still, Brolin, Garner and now Ehrenreich are nothing to sneeze at in terms of casting, and you know Cregger will have attracted others on the strength of his previous work.

Ehrenreich had a busy 2023, appearing in a variety of projects including ‘Cocaine Bear,’ ‘Fair Play,’ and a small film called ‘Oppenheimer.’

When will ‘Guns’ be locked and ready to load in theaters?

New Line has yet to announce a release date for ‘Weapons,’ which, given that cameras are just about to roll, seems prudent.

Other films by Alden Ehrenreich:

Buy Alden Ehrenreich Movies on Amazon