After years of keeping the world laughing as part of the comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U’Know, Zach Cregger made a sharp shift and moved into the world of horror. Moving from in front of the camera to behind it, Cregger made his breakthrough feature-length directorial debut with the 2022 film Barbarian. In the years since, the movie has reached the masses and become considered by many as one of the greatest genre flicks of the last decade. Proving that lightning can in fact strike more than once, Cregger followed up the Georgina Campbell-led film last year with Weapons. The following behind the filmmaker’s sophomore project can’t be understated as it was not only a favorite among audiences but was just as much of a hit with critics as well, even earning its star Amy Madigan her first Academy Award win.
Madigan’s performance as the eccentric witchy aunt Gladys made such a wave that she will soon be reprising her role in a prequel film titled Gladys. But, before we learn more about the hijinks that brought Gladys to the town of Maybrook, Pennsylvania in the Warner Bros. production, audiences will be invited to join Cregger for something completely different. Tonight, during the Warner Bros. panel at CinemaCon, it was announced that the helmer will flex his sci-fi chops with an original project titled The Flood. Slated for a cinematic arrival on August 11, 2028, not only is Cregger back behind the camera on this one, but he also penned the screenplay and will serve as a producer alongside Amblin and Vertigo Entertainment.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Will ‘The Flood’ Affect Zach Cregger’s ‘Weapons’ Prequel?
The good news for Cregger fans hungry for more to come from the Weapons universe is that The Flood will in no way, shape, or form affect the production process and arrival of Gladys. In fact, the prequel has already set an arrival date for September 8, 2028. So, while Cregger’s sci-fi thriller will bring audiences into cinemas a full month ahead of Gladys, the origin story of one of the greatest characters in recent years won’t be affected in any way.
Now for the twist. If you were hoping that Cregger would be keeping himself incredibly busy over the next two years as the director behind both The Flood and Gladys, you’ll be sorely disappointed to learn that he’s stepping away from the helm for the former. He will, however, co-pen the screenplay alongside Zach Shields and will serve as a producer with Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Miri Yoon.
Stay tuned to Collider for more to come from CinemaCon.
