A fascinating fan theory suggests that Weapons and the 2022 horror movie Barbarian are connected. Ever since its release on August 8, reviews for Weapons have been incredible, cementing it as one of the best horror movies of the year. This doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise, since Zach Cregger previously directed Barbarian, which was a hit in 2022.

In Weapons, every student in a class, except for one, mysteriously runs out of their homes at 2:17 in the morning. Throughout the movie, Julia Garner’s Justine and Josh Brolin’s Archer try to find the missing children. As the suspense and mystery builds, there are plenty of terrifying moments in Weapons.

The movie has been a huge success so far, and New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. reportedly want Cregger to make a prequel to Weapons, which would follow Aunt Gladys. While the world of this twisted horror movie could expand on its own, an interesting theory already connects Weapons to Cregger’s previous movie, Barbarian.

A Weapons Theory Suggests That Marcus Knows Barbarian’s Main Character

Months before the release of Weapons, a website called Maybrook News was created to tease the events of the horror movie. Now, this website is solely used to sell tickets. However, it initially contained vital information about the 17 children who went missing in Maybrook. Interestingly, this website also seemingly confirmed that Weapons and Barbarian exist in the same universe.

As pointed out by Medical Movie Man in a TikTok, this website originally featured a news article which was тιтled “Underground Prison Discovered in Rental Home.” This article mentions Tess, who was played by Georgina Campbell, and discusses the nightmarish rental property that she stayed at in Barbarian.

The theory points out that Tess was actually from Maybrook, the town where Weapons takes place. Interestingly, early on in Barbarian, someone named Marcus can be seen calling Tess. This is where the potential connections between the two movies get very interesting, as Bendict Wong plays a character named Marcus in Weapons.

When Barbarian initially came out, it seemed clear that Marcus was simply an ex-boyfriend of Tess’ who was trying to contact her. However, since Marcus is married in Weapons, this theory suggests that he was actually Tess’ old boss. In Barbarian, Tess is looking for a new job, so perhaps she used to be the teacher for Alex and all the other students who go missing.

After all, it is established that Justine took over for another teacher. Therefore, it’s possible that Marcus was calling Tess in Weapons to see if she knew anything about the missing children. If this theory is true, it would confirm that the events of Barbarian and Weapons are happening around the same time, and would make both movies far more interesting upon rewatching.