New Onslaught Trailer Reveals Its Twisted Super Soldiers

A24 has released a new Adam Wingard’s Onslaught trailer, and this time the genetically engineered killers are getting a proper introduction.

The first trailer focused primarily on Adria Arjona as an Army sniper forced to protect her young daughter after a group of super soldiers escapes into the desert. Trailer 2 gives us a much better look at what she will be fighting when Adam Wingard’s Onslaught arrives in theaters and IMAX on September 4, 2026

Meet the Super Soldiers

The new footage introduces several members of the rogue squad, including Crybaby, Cockroach and the Butcher. The Butcher is played by UFC champion Alex Pereira, who spends much of the trailer carrying an enormous meat cleaver and looking nearly impossible to stop.

They are introduced by an almost unrecognizable Dan Stevens, who appears under extensive prosthetics as the German scientist responsible for creating the soldiers. Stevens previously starred in Wingard’s The Guest, but he is playing a completely different character here.

A24’s official synopsis reads:

When a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers break loose in the desert, a badass Army sniper must unleash hell to protect her young daughter.

The cast also includes Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, Drew Starkey and Rebecca Hall. Wingard directed the film from a screenplay by Simon Barrett, based on a story they wrote together.

HOW Onslaught Connects to The Guest

Adam Wingard has revealed that Onslaught takes place in the same town as The Guest, with both stories connected to the same secret military program. He has described the new movie as a spiritual sequel and suggested that it could technically be considered a sequel despite Stevens playing a new character.

The connection makes sense. The Guest followed a military test subject who had been transformed into an almost unstoppable weapon. Onslaught appears to expand that idea by showing what happens when an entire group of those weapons escapes and begins hunting anyone unfortunate enough to cross its path.

What We Think

The first trailer made Onslaught look like a huge, violent action movie. This one leans much harder into the slasher side of it, with genetically engineered killers who each seem to have their own names, weapons and personalities. The Butcher is clearly being positioned as the main attraction, but Crybaby and Cockroach suggest Adam Wingard may have some even stranger surprises waiting for us.

The connection to The Guest immediately makes this way more interesting for us. Amy and I both really liked that movie and have been meaning to watch it again, so learning that Onslaught takes place in the same town and is connected to the same military program gives us another reason to be excited. It sounds less like Wingard simply revisiting the style of The Guest and more like he is expanding its world in a much louder and bloodier direction.

We are also always happy to see Dan Stevens show up. We first knew him from Downton Abbey, but he has become one of those actors who makes almost any movie more interesting. Between The Guest, The Ritual, Abigail and Legion, he has built an impressive collection of strange, intense and often unpredictable characters. His nearly unrecognizable scientist in this trailer looks like another one to add to that list.

Most importantly, I had Amy watch the trailer because she has made it clear that she wants more approval over our review list going forward. Her response was, “Okay… I think I can handle that.”

That may not sound overly enthusiastic, but after Her Private Hell, I am counting it as official approval.