Lance Reddick‘s unexpected death has turned Adam Wingard‘s The Guest 2 into Onslaught. The filmmaker revealed how he was forced to abandon a direct sequel to his 2014 action/thriller.
Wingard mentioned that Onslaught was originally intended as a follow-up to his critically acclaimed The Guest. However, he had to change his mind following the death of the renowned actor Lance Reddick.
“Unfortunately, when Lance died, that slowed us down from making a direct sequel to The Guest,” Winger told The Hollywood Reporter. “It didn’t quite feel right after he passed because all of our ideas up to that point included bringing [Carver] back in some weird f—-d-up way. So it was very sad, and it pushed us in a different direction,” he explained.
Major Richard Carver, played by Reddick, was one of the characters in The Guest and was killed at the end.
How is Onslaught connected to The Guest?
The basic premise of both movies is actually similar, to say the least. The Guest featured a plot of super soldiers going rogue, which is exactly the premise of Onslaught as well.
The latest sci-fi thriller features Adria Arjona in the lead role of Celeste, a former military sniper living in a desert trailer park with her daughter. Its official synopsis reads, “When a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers breaks loose in the desert, a badass Army sniper must unleash hell to protect her young daughter.”
The only difference is that, instead of continuing The Guest’s characters, Onslaught tells a fresh story about Celeste and her challenges as she goes up against super soldiers on a killing streak.
Besides Arjona, the ensemble cast includes Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Michael Biehn, Reginald VelJohnson, Eric Wareheim, Drew Starkey, and Alex “Poatan” Pereira.
A24’s Onslaught is now playing in theaters following its release on September 4, 2026.
Originally reported on ComingSoon.
