Later this year, director Adam Wingard is collaborating with Dan Stevens on a new sci-fi action movie about a dangerous escape from a military installation. Because the new film shares similar themes with Wingard’s 2014 movie, The Guest, many people are wondering if the two stories are connected.
Adam Wingard Reveals How Onslaught & The Guest Are Connected
Wingard enjoyed working on large-scale studio films. After making The Guest, he spent about ten years in that world and felt ready for a project like Onslaught, which he sees as a return to his roots.
I was chatting with the director, and he framed this new film as a kind of satisfying conclusion to a loose trilogy – thinking of it alongside You’re Next and The Guest, culminating in this one, Onslaught. He didn’t explicitly say these movies share a single universe or anything, but it’s clear they all exist within the same headspace for him creatively. It feels like he’s been building towards something with these projects, and this is where it all lands.
The new film Onslaught, coming to theaters from A24 on September 4, 2026, follows a mother in a trailer park who must defend her family when a strange danger breaks free from a hidden military base. The film stars as Celeste, with Alex Pereira playing the character known as the Butcher. The roles of Stevens and Hall haven’t been announced yet.
Wingard said working on Onslaught felt incredibly liberating. While having a large budget can create its own complications, this project forced them to be resourceful and return to a more traditional, hands-on filmmaking approach, which was a refreshing change.
Wingard explained that one of the main reasons he took on Onslaught was the creative freedom it offered. He said, “Being able to direct and make my own choices without interference was really important to me.”
Onslaught & The Guest Share Many Similar Themes
When Wingard described Onslaught as being part of a trilogy alongside You’re Next and The Guest, he probably meant they share a similar style or themes, not that it’s a direct sequel. However, the films do have noticeable things in common, so fans who enjoyed The Guest from 2014 will likely enjoy this one too.
Besides bringing back director Adam Wingard and actor Dan Stevens for another collaboration, Onslaught shares similarities with his previous film, The Guest. Both were filmed in New Mexico and feature storylines about secret military projects and soldiers with extraordinary abilities who break free. While we’ll have to wait until September to see the full extent of the connection between these two movies, Wingard has hinted that Onslaught was his most creatively fulfilling project yet.
Onslaught will be released in theaters by A24 on Sept. 4, 2026.
2026-07-27 15:05