Is Zach Cregger's Weapons Connected To Barbarian? Here's The Truth

Spoilers follow.

Movies these days can't just be their own thing. Thanks to success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, studio execs everywhere salivate at the idea of a cinematic universe. Why make one movie that stands on its own when you can instead use that film as a launchpad for sequels, prequels, and spin-offs? Of course, more often than not, this plan backfires (just take a look at Sony's now-aborted Spider-Man-free Spider-Man universe). Good idea or not, modern moviegoers have been conditioned to expect this treatment for new films.

Case in point: Zach Cregger, who helmed the excellent horror pic "Barbarian," is back with "Weapons," a wild and crazy new fright flick full of shocking twists and turns. While "Weapons" obviously isn't a sequel to "Barbarian," lots of digital ink has been spilled speculating that this new Cregger film has some sort of direct connection to the previous. 

So ... does it? Is "Weapons" connected to "Barbarian"? 

The marketing for "Weapons" has been pretty darn great, teasing out just enough information about the film's plot (which involves a group of middle school kids who run out of their house one night and disappear) without giving too much away.

Part of that marketing includes the viral website "Maybrook News" at the URL MaybrookMissing.com. This site takes the form of a (fake) local newspaper with various stories related to the plot of "Weapons." But there's one specific story that caught people's eye, with the headline "Underground Prison Discovered in Rental Home." Clicking on that story mentions that "̌A rental property in Detroit's Brightmoor neighborhood has become the focus of a chilling investigation after a local woman escaped the home under shocking circumstances and an actor was found dead nearby," and goes on to namecheck someone named Tess Marshall. Of course, fans of "Barbarian" can tell you that's the name of the main character of that film, and the "underground prison" beneath the rental home factors into the plot.

The mention of the events of "Barbarian" on the Maybrook News site lead many (including us here at /Film!) to theorize that maybe, just maybe, the films were connected in some way. Perhaps set in the same cinematic universe! But are they?

Nope, "Weapons" is not connected to "Barbarian." Despite the "Barbarian" callback on the Maybrook News site, the fact of the matter is that there's nothing in "Weapons" to actually connect it to "Barbarian." No one mentions the events of that film, nor do they seem to be set in the same location ("Barbarian" is set in the real Detroit neighborhood of Brightmoor, which "Weapons" takes place in the seemingly fictional small suburban town of Maybrook).

So what's the deal? Why did the Maybrook News site include mention of the events of "Barbarian"? If I had to guess, I would simply say: for fun. The "Barbarian" throwback on the viral site was nothing more than a wink at fans who loved Cregger's first film and want to see the new one.

On top of that, it seems almost impossible to connect these films, because while they have the same director and are both horror flicks, they're distinctly different. "Barbarian" does not involve the supernatural, while "Weapons" very much does. Then there's the fact that two films hail from different studios: "Barbarian" was released by the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios, while "Weapons" comes from Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. But here's the thing: it's okay to not have these movies be connected. In fact, it's better that way. We shouldn't need every movie to be the starting point for a cinematic universe. Sometimes it's okay to let movies stand on their own.

"Weapons" is now playing in theaters.