Barbarian director Zach Cregger’s upcoming film Weapons is becoming one of the most talked-about horror movies of 2025, and it seems Get Out filmmaker Jordan Peele really wanted to produce it. 2025’s Weapons presents an original story about a town in which 17 children in the same class leave their homes and disappear in the middle of the night, leaving their parents and their teacher (who’s played by Julia Garner) frightened and confused.
A week before its August 8th premiere, Zach Cregger’s Weapons received a perfect 100% rating from its first 12 critics on Rotten Tomatoes, heralding it as one of the year’s biggest horror success stories. This seemed like a huge win for the movie’s producer, New Line Cinema.
However, Weapons was nearly produced by Peele, who scrambled to purchase the rights to it alongside Universal in a high-stakes bidding war in early 2023. Since then, it’s been speculated that Peele’s loss of the opportunity to produce Cregger’s acclaimed film may have cost two Hollywood talent managers one of their most significant clients.
Jordan Peele Lost The Weapons Rights To New Line Cinema
An Intense Bidding War Culminated In A $38 Million Purchase Of Weapons
Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema reportedly purchased the rights to produce Weapons, based on Cregger’s script, in a bidding war for a whopping $38 million (via ᴅᴇᴀᴅline). This bid reportedly came down to New Line Cinema and Universal, with Peele’s company, Monkeypaw Productions, aiming to produce the film for the latter.
Though Universal’s bid was reportedly $7 million less than New Line’s, Peele was supposedly ready to chip in with his contractual backend to buy the film, showing that he really wanted to make this movie.
According to that same ᴅᴇᴀᴅline report, there are different versions of what happened next. In one account, Peele was ultimately angry over the loss of Weapons. In the other, Peele was told that he would win the Weapons rights if he matched New Line’s bid, but he and Universal were unsure about the movie’s success with such a lofty budget and walked away.
Jordan Peele Parted Ways With 2 Managers After Losing The Weapons Rights
Could This Bidding War Have Been Why?
Ultimately, Peele parted ways with his managers at Artists First, Joel Zadak and Peter Principato, sometime following the auction. Despite the speculation, it hasn’t been confirmed why Peele ended this professional relationship. What is known, however, is that both Peele and Cregger were represented by Principato. Principato and Zadak signed Peele back when he was an improv comic like Cregger.
In April 2025, Cregger spoke to EW about his complicated feelings following the Weapons bidding war:
“It was stressful. People might think from the outside looking in that I was flinging dollar bills in the air and calling enemies and saying, ‘F— you.’ The truth of the matter was it’s a very high-pressure thing, and people were getting pissed and it was stressful. I didn’t totally get to unclench and appreciate what happened until maybe a week later when the dust settled and the adrenaline subsided.“
It is possible that, given their longtime partnership and connection to Cregger, Peele was disappointed that his managers couldn’t secure him the rights to Weapons – perhaps he felt they prioritized their other client’s interests in this deal over his. Although, it’s worth noting Peele didn’t sever ties with his other representation, CAA, who represent Cregger as well.
Unless anyone involved comments on the situation, why Peele moved on from Artists First will likely remain unknown. Similarly, his feelings on the bidding war may not be as heated as some believe. But given what appears to be a very H๏τ start to its release, losing the chance to produce Weapons may sting a little extra these next few weeks.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes, ᴅᴇᴀᴅline
