Adam Wingard Confirms A24 Pic ‘Onslaught’ Lives In Same Universe/Town As ‘The Guest,’ Calls It “A Spiritual Sequel” [Comic-Con]

An upcoming A24 release from Adam Wingard, “Onslaught,” starring Adria Arjona, Alex Pereira, Rebecca Hall, Drew Starkey, Michael Biehn, Eric Wareheim, and “Die Hard” actor Reginald VelJohnson, looks to be officially connected to the sci-fi thriller “The Guest.” In the 2014 flick, Dan Stevens plays David, an unhinged/mentally unstable test subject who has escaped some super-soldier facility only to go around murdering people in a small town with his enhanced abilities. Well, the director, during the film’s promotion panel at San Diego Comic-Con, has confirmed that the movie is indeed directly set in the same universe as “The Guest,” something eagle-eyed fans have long suspected since the release of the teaser trailer.

“It is a spiritual sequel,” Wingard confirmed at SDCC (via Empire Magazine). “That said, it lives in the same universe.” Adding to some of the confusion is that Stevens appears in a new trailer for “Onslaught” shown at the event (expected to arrive online in the coming days), where he’s in old-age makeup as a scientist with a German accent, although cloning and DNA tinkering in this sci-fi world wouldn’t be entirely shocking.

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A social media post from Bloody Disgusting (see below) quoting Wingard during the SDCC panel hosted by Kevin Smith: “The idea is that the secret programs we’re seeing going on here are other aspects of the same thing David’s character came from in ‘The Guest.'” Also, the setting is not only the same universe, but in the same small rural town that David terrorized in that previous installment from Wingard.

Here’s the official logline for “Onslaught” from A24, where Arjona plays a tough-as-nails ex-soldier who ends up crossing paths with a bunch of super soldiers cooked up in some secret program that go on a killing spree against the townspeople.

“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.”

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“Onslaught” is set to hit theaters on September 4, so audiences won’t have to wait too much longer to see how far that connective tissue with “The Guest” goes between the two sci-fi action thrillers. Then again, we’ll have to watch the movie for ourselves to see what those details and connections could be beyond the setting.

It's true. Adam Wingard's new A24 movie ONSLAUGHT is a stealth sequel to THE GUEST.

Same universe. Same town.

Wingard explains, "The idea is that the secret programs we’re seeing going on here are other aspects of the same thing David’s character came from in The Guest." pic.twitter.com/QfuRk3O9y4

— Bloody Disgusting (@BDisgusting) July 24, 2026