Editorial · Article
The Flood (2028): Is Zach Cregger's Jennifer Lawrence Movie Horror? Release Date and Plot
In US theaters August 11, 2028 · Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema · Written and directed by Zach Cregger · Starring Jennifer Lawrence
By Alan Willey ·
The Flood is Zach Cregger's next film, after Barbarian, Weapons and Resident Evil. He wrote it and is directing. Jennifer Lawrence stars. Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema release it in US theaters on Friday, August 11, 2028.
Cregger says it is science fiction, not horror, and also his most disturbing film.
We haven't seen it. We score films only after watching them.
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Is The Flood a horror movie?
Not according to Cregger. He calls it science fiction with horror in it.
"It's science fiction, and it's probably my most disturbing film," he told ScreenRant in September 2026. "It's not a horror movie, but it has a lot of horror in it."
In a Reddit AMA that month, he wrote that it is "not quite as horror central as the other movies," but "might be the most unsettling." He told TheWrap it is "not intended to be scary."
We've filed it under horror, science fiction and thriller.
When does The Flood come out?
The Flood opens in US theaters on Friday, August 11, 2028. Warner Bros. set the date in April 2026.
Some sites list August 9. That's the French release date.
Gladys, the Weapons prequel, follows four weeks later on September 8, 2028. Cregger is producing it but not directing.
What is The Flood about?
Warner Bros. didn't release a plot when Lawrence was cast. Deadline, Variety and TheWrap all reported that it was being kept under wraps.
The premise you'll see online comes from a February 2026 Dread Central report. In it, a deep-space captain and her crew follow a signal from a distant world and find an alien artifact that warps time, reality and their sanity. The studio never confirmed it.
The ship and character names going around are the same story. They come from World of Reel, whose writer says he read the script, and TMDB copied them. The studio hasn't announced either.
What Cregger has said about it
He points to 2001: A Space Odyssey, while saying he isn't comparing the two. "There's a bizarreness to that movie that's really undeniable," he told Men's Health. "There's some similarity with Flood."
He told Deadline it is "structurally bizarre." At Comic-Con in July 2026, he warned that viewers "might have moments, on first watch, where you think the movie is broken, and it's by design."
He also told Deadline: "I will burn my house down to make this movie."
Where the idea came from
In 2023, just before the writers' strike, Steven Spielberg asked Cregger for a new idea. Cregger told Deadline he had five days.
It came while he and his wife, the actress Sara Paxton, were watching a film with an abandoned spaceship in it. Esquire says it was Ad Astra. Paxton said, as he tells it, "There's nothing scarier than being trapped in space." He says the whole film came to him at once. Esquire reports they sold it two days later.
You may have read that he wrote the script in five days. He didn't. The five days were for the idea. He wrote the script later, alongside Resident Evil.
Why isn't The Flood on Netflix?
It started there. Cregger wrote it at Amblin, which had a deal with Netflix. In November 2025, TheWrap reported the project had stalled because Netflix wouldn't give it a theatrical release. Two insiders disputed that it had stalled.
New Line picked it up in early 2026. That put Cregger back with the studios behind Weapons, which made about $270 million worldwide on a $38 million budget.
How scary are Zach Cregger's movies? Our scores
We've scored the three horror films he made before The Flood. Each scored lower on Fear than the one before. Atmosphere stayed high.
Barbarian (2022): Fear 6.9, Atmosphere 8.0, Intensity 7.0, Overall 7.5.
Weapons (2025): Fear 5.0, Atmosphere 7.0, Intensity 7.7, Overall 7.1.
Resident Evil (2026): Fear 3.8, Atmosphere 7.7, Intensity 5.3, Overall 7.5.
His films have scared us less each time while still scoring well. That matches what he says about The Flood: it's meant to disturb, not to scare.
Who's making it
New Line produces and Warner Bros. distributes. Amblin Entertainment produces with Roy Lee and Miri Yoon of Vertigo Entertainment. TheWrap and Esquire report that Spielberg himself is producing.
Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Die My Love (2025).
The Hollywood Reporter says production starts in Europe in early 2027.
Other films called The Flood
The title is common, and search results mix these up. None of them are Cregger's film.
The Flood (2023) is an alligator movie with Casper Van Dien.
The Flood (2019) is a British drama with Lena Headey.
The Flood (2020) is an Australian western.
The Great Flood (2025) is a Korean disaster film on Netflix.
Related films on Watch Darkly
Barbarian(2022)
Cregger's scariest film by our scores: Fear 6.9, Overall 7.5.
Weapons(2025)
Also from Warner Bros. and New Line. Overall 7.1, and his most intense film by our scores at 7.7.
Resident Evil(2026)
Written at the same time as The Flood. Overall 7.5.
Alien(1979)
Dread Central called The Flood "very Alien-esque." Overall 9.5, and a perfect 10 for Atmosphere.
Event Horizon(1997)
Deep-space horror about a crew far from help. Overall 7.8, Fear 7.5.
Sunshine(2007)
Science fiction with a lot of horror in it. Overall 7.9.
Solaris(2002)
A quiet space film that gets into the crew's heads. Fear 4.0: unsettling more than scary.
Common questions
- When does The Flood come out?
- Friday, August 11, 2028, in US theaters. Some sites list August 9, which is the French date.
- Is The Flood a horror movie?
- Not according to Zach Cregger. He calls it science fiction that is "not a horror movie, but it has a lot of horror in it," and his most disturbing film.
- What is The Flood about?
- As of September 29, 2026, the studio hasn't said. An unconfirmed Dread Central report says a deep-space crew follows a signal from a distant world and finds an alien artifact that warps time, reality and their sanity.
- Who does Jennifer Lawrence play in The Flood?
- As of September 29, 2026, her role hasn't been announced. The character name going around online comes from World of Reel, not the studio.
- Is The Flood on Netflix?
- No. It started at Netflix, but New Line picked it up in 2026 after reports that Netflix wouldn't give it a theatrical release. It's a Warner Bros. theatrical release.
- Did Zach Cregger write The Flood in five days?
- No. He had five days to come up with the idea. He wrote the script later, alongside Resident Evil.
- Is The Flood connected to Weapons or Barbarian?
- No connection has been announced. It's an original story. The Weapons prequel is a separate film, Gladys, opening September 8, 2028.
- Is The Flood the alligator movie?
- No. That's The Flood (2023), with Casper Van Dien. Zach Cregger's film is The Flood (2028).
- Where is The Flood filming?
- In Europe, starting in early 2027, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As of September 29, 2026, no country has been announced.
- Is there a trailer for The Flood?
- No. As of September 29, 2026, filming hasn't started.
- How scary are Zach Cregger's movies?
- By our Fear scores: Barbarian 6.9, Weapons 5.0, Resident Evil 3.8. All three score between 7.1 and 7.5 overall.