A24’s ‘Onslaught’ Trailer Confirms It’s a Sequel to a Cult Classic Sort Of

Adam Wingard has established himself as a master of delivering the unhinged genre thrills that horror enthusiasts crave. His latest collaboration with longtime writing partner Simon Barrett is set to continue that legacy. During San Diego Comic Con this weekend, the duo unveiled their most extensive look yet at a project fans have eagerly awaited since its announcement in 2024.

This project is ‘Onslaught,’ A24’s upcoming action horror thriller, marking Wingard’s first fully original film since the cult classic ‘The Guest’ in 2014. The new trailer, released in conjunction with Comic Con, provides the clearest insight into how far Wingard and Barrett are pushing this particular narrative.

Adria Arjona stars as Celeste, a former Army sniper who has settled into a quiet life in a desert trailer park with her young daughter, finally feeling safe. However, that tranquility is short-lived as the trailer reveals a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers—code-named Crybaby, Cockroach, and the Butcher—breaking free from a nearby military facility and unleashing their deadly instincts on the surrounding community.

One voice in the trailer describes the escaped soldiers as the human equivalent of a heat-seeking missile, highlighting just how relentless and unkillable these engineered threats are meant to be. Once they begin their rampage, the film’s marketing suggests they won’t stop, forcing Celeste to tap into skills she thought she had left behind.

Much of the pre-release buzz has focused on the film’s connection to Wingard’s earlier cult hit. Dan Stevens, who starred in ‘The Guest’ as the enigmatic former soldier with a dangerous secret, makes a brief appearance in the new trailer, heavily made up to appear older and adopting a German accent, indicating he is not simply reprising his original role as David Collins.

During this year’s Comic Con, Wingard addressed that connection directly, stating that ‘Onslaught’ could technically be viewed as a sequel to ‘The Guest,’ though not a direct one. This careful distinction has only fueled speculation among longtime fans eager to understand how these two stories intertwine.

The film’s ensemble cast further enhances the sense of a shared universe, featuring Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, Drew Starkey, and Rebecca Hall. Hall’s role has garnered particular attention, given her character’s apparent ties to the covert military experiments that were central to Wingard’s earlier film.

Wingard has described ‘Onslaught’ as a gonzo action horror thriller, embracing an over-the-top blend of sci-fi carnage and relentless violence that feels like a return to the pulpier, 1980s style of his earlier works. This tonal shift marks a significant departure from his recent big-budget studio projects, including ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ and ‘Godzilla x Kong The New Empire.’

Produced by Aaron Ryder and Andrew Swett’s Ryder Picture Company in collaboration with A24 and Alexander Black’s Lyrical Media, ‘Onslaught’ represents Wingard and Barrett’s first fully original screenplay collaboration since ‘The Guest.’ Given the enduring popularity of that earlier film among genre fans, expectations for this spiritual follow-up have only intensified since the Comic Con reveal.

‘Onslaught’ is set to hit theaters exclusively on September 4.

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