I sat down with Samara Weaving, who's the top actress working in the horror comedy genre.
She started off her career in Starz's Ash vs. the Evil Dead (2015-2016) and starred across from Steven Yeun in Mayhem (2017). She played John Hawkes’ comically dim-witted girlfriend in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) then starred in Netflix's The Babysitter (2017). And also had a small part in Babylon (2022).
However, she is best known as the bride who is forced to go on a killer rampage in Searchlight’s comedy, action gore-fest Ready or Not (2019).
Now she is starring in a trifecta of films releasing/in-release over the next few months:
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026)
Cast: Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Elijah Wood, David Cronenberg, and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Premiere: SXSW
Synopsis:
After surviving one deadly game, Grace and her sister Faith must now outrun four rival families competing for a powerful throne - winner takes all.
Weaving shared the dichotomy between the two films:
“If the first one is like a break-up movie this one is a falling in love movie. What I loved about having [my sister] Kathryn with me is it gave Grace a reason to keep fighting because I think if she was alone she would just give up. She’s done and so tired. But fighting for something was really interesting. And then getting to see the world through fresh eyes.”
Weaving plays a lot more of a selfish character, but the best moments are where she forms this relationship with her sister.
In the sequel we also get to see Weaving completely corrupted, which is gloriously unexpected and very fun.
She explained:
“I think they’ve made her a villain just for a bit… for me that’s what she needs to become in order to survive. If it’s all about survival and how to get through it, I think there’s this fury at the end. And it’s not necessarily. It’s ‘how you dare you do this to my sister, how dare you do this to me’. She could have easily gotten weird and it could have been a villain origin story… but I wanted a glimmer of that.”
Her 2nd new film:
Over Your Dead Body (2026)
Cast: Weaving, Jason Segel
Premiere: SXSW
Synopsis:
A dysfunctional married couple retreats to a secluded cabin to repair their relationship, but each secretly plots to murder the other.
It’s a hilarious take on how going through serious trauma with your partner makes you closer.
Samara stated:
“Because it’s far more comedic [than Ready or Not 2] you can get away with playing resentment if it’s funny. If you’re making the audience laugh they’re going to like you. And Jason Segal already comes with an absolute adoration from the audience. So I think we could both be as cruel as possible and we’re already forgiven.”
Releases April 24th.
Her third new film:
Carolina Caroline (2026)
Cast: Weaving, Kyra Sedgwick, Kyle Gallner
Premiere: TIFF
Synopsis:
A young woman joins a charming con man on the run, leaving a trail of crime and passion as they hustle through the Southeast in search of her estranged mother.
Release: June 5th.
At the end of the interview, Weaving opens up about her favorite genre of movies and what kind of film she’s dying to star in.
