Rooney Mara is the first name to be announced for Zach Cregger’s planned ‘multi-story horror epic’. More details here.
Following some heavyweight bidding at the turn of the year, New Line secured the services of fast-upcoming filmmaker Zach Cregger. Following the buzz caused by his 2022 debut, Barbarian, the bidding war to secure Cregger and his next film, Weapons, was reportedly pretty intense and resulted in the filmmaker snagging a very handsome deal.
The reported deal is said to include a budget for Weapons that is double the size of Barbarian‘s, whilst also including other concessions such as “a guaranteed greenlight, a guaranteed theatrical release, a controlling interest in a backend pot and Cregger receiving final cut pending a threshold being met during test screenings.”
Whilst the project itself remains shrouded in mystery, several outlets are reporting that Rooney Mara has joined what is likely to be an ensemble cast, given that the story is said to be an ‘interrelated, multi-story horror epic that tonally is in the vein of Magnolia.’
Mara has certainly seemed content of late to work within ensembles, with her recent roles in Women Talking and Nightmare Alley seeing her share the screen with a score of talented performers.
Where this leaves Mara’s starring role in a planned take on Audrey Hepburn in Luca Guadagnino’s biopic for Apple remains unclear, especially as the star of A Ghost Story is also set to shoot The Island this year alongside spouse Joaquin Phoenix. We’d have thought that one would have been happening once Phoenix wrapped on Joker: Folie à Deux but the order in which these projects will enter production remains as yet, unclear. We’ll bring you more casting on Weapons as we hear it.
