‘Man of Tomorrow’ Star Adria Arjona Looks Like the Right Choice for DCU’s Wonder Woman After ‘Onslaught’ Press

Adria Arjona has spent the past several years quietly building one of the more interesting resumes in Hollywood, moving between prestige television, sharp comedy, and awards-adjacent dramas without ever fully stepping into full-blown action territory. That balance has made her a favorite among critics, even as fans kept waiting to see her lead something louder and more physical.

That wait is officially coming to an end this fall. Arjona’s turn in ‘Hit Man’ opposite Glen Powell and her widely praised work on ‘Andor’ proved she could hold a screen in almost any register, but nothing in her career so far has put her front and center as a genuine action lead.

That changes with ‘Onslaught,’ and recent press photos of Arjona promoting the film have already started generating buzz online. The film marks her first-ever leading role in a straightforward action movie, placing her at the center of director Adam Wingard’s latest genre experiment for A24.

‘Onslaught’ follows Arjona as a former Army sniper turned single mother living in a desert trailer park, forced back into combat mode after a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers escapes from a nearby military facility and threatens her daughter’s safety. Wingard, the filmmaker behind ‘You’re Next’ and the recent ‘Godzilla’ crossover films, returns to smaller scale original genre work here alongside longtime collaborator Simon Barrett, who co-wrote the screenplay.

That reunion between Wingard and Barrett carries extra weight for longtime fans, since the pair previously created the 2014 cult favorite ‘The Guest’ together. During the film’s Comic Con panel, that connection was made explicit, with the event confirming that co-star Rebecca Hall will play the film’s central antagonist, a character tied directly to the same kind of covert military experiments that fueled the plot of that earlier film.

When asked whether ‘Onslaught’ functions as a direct sequel to ‘The Guest,’ Hall offered a careful answer, drawing a distinction between the two while acknowledging real connective tissue linking them together. That ambiguity has only stoked more excitement among fans who have followed Wingard’s genre output closely since his earliest cult hits.

Adding further weight to that shared universe idea is the return of Dan Stevens, who originally starred in ‘The Guest’ as a mysterious former soldier hiding a dangerous secret. Stevens now returns to this loosely connected world alongside Arjona, reinforcing the sense that Wingard is deliberately threading connections across his filmography rather than starting fresh with every new project.

The film’s ensemble also includes UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira as the villainous Butcher, along with Michael Biehn, Drew Starkey, Eric Wareheim, and Reginald VelJohnson, rounding out what has been described as a gonzo action horror thriller centered on a desert set showdown against an engineered military threat. Production took place in New Mexico, giving the film its distinct sun scorched, isolated atmosphere.

Early trailers have already teased plenty of that chaos, including Arjona revving a chainsaw while facing down Pereira’s towering antagonist. The footage has drawn comparisons to Wingard’s earlier action horror work, suggesting ‘Onslaught’ will lean into the same kind of gonzo energy that made ‘You’re Next’ a breakout hit.

With Arjona’s transition into full-scale action filmmaking generating this much attention before release, ‘Onslaught’ looks poised to become one of the more talked-about genre releases of the fall season. Given its ties to Wingard’s earlier cult favorite, longtime fans of his work have every reason to keep paying close attention as more promotional material rolls out.

‘Onslaught’ arrives in theaters on September 4.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!