Survival Thriller ARCADIAN, Starring Nicolas Cage, Acquired by RLJE Films

Image courtesy of RLJE Films

RLJE Films has announced the acquisition of the highly anticipated survival thriller ARCADIAN ahead of its world premiere at SXSW.

The film stars Nicolas Cage (Dream Scenario, Mandy), Jaeden Martell (IT, Knives Out), Maxwell Jenkins ("Lost in Space"), and Sadie Soverall (Saltburn). The film is written by Michael Nilon and directed by Ben Brewer, who was lead visual effects artist for Everything Everywhere All At Once.

RLJE has picked up the rights for North America, the UK, Ireland, and Australia, and will release the film in theaters on April 12, 2024, followed by a debut on Shudder and AMC+ later this year. Highland Film Group is representing international rights to the film.

ARCADIAN takes place in a near future, where normal life on Earth has been decimated. Paul and his two sons, Thomas and Joseph, have been living a half-life - tranquility by day and torment by night. Every night, after the sun sets, they face the unrelenting attacks of a mysterious and violent evil. One day, when Thomas doesn't return home before sundown, Paul must leave the safety of their fortified farm to find him. A nightmarish battle ensues that forces the family to execute a desperate plan to survive.

Director Ben Brewer commented, "I'm so glad that ARCADIAN has found a home with RLJE Films and that they will be bringing the film to theaters for audiences to enjoy, which is a singular thrill for filmmakers. I was so moved by the work everyone did on this movie, and I'm ecstatic that RLJE Films is honoring it in this special way."

"ARCADIAN is an instant knockout," said Mark Ward, Chief Acquisitions Officer of RLJE Films. "Michael Nilon's script deftly balances between the riveting thrills of a creature feature and the hopeful heart at the core of Paul's family, played to perfection by Cage, Martel, and Jenkins."

"Ben Brewer masterfully helms this thrilling, action packed feature, so we are particularly excited to have our friends at RLJE Films come on board to release ARCADIAN. They are the ideal partner to introduce this out-of-the-box suspenseful creature thriller to audiences, beginning with its debut at SXSW," said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser.

ARCADIAN is produced by Redline Entertainment’s David M Wulf p.g.a, Highland Film Group’s Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Cage’s Saturn Films and Michael Nilon, and Braxton Pope p.g.a. The deal was negotiated by Mark Ward on behalf of RLJE Films and Arianne Fraser on behalf of Highland Film Group.

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ABOUT RLJE FILMS AMC Networks’ RLJE Films is a distribution company whose releases include the Nicolas Cage phenomenon Mandy from writer/director Panos Cosmatos, writer/director Craig Zahler’s debut Bone Tomahawk, the action-packed The Tax Collector from writer/director David Ayer, and Christmas with the Campbells from producers Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley. Recent films include writer/director Kurt Wimmer’s Children of the Corn, a chilling re-telling for a whole new generation, director Yuval Adler’s Sympathy for the Devil, and director John Stalberg Jr.’s Muzzle.

ABOUT HIGHLAND FILM GROUP

Led by founding partners Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Highland Film Group (HFG) is an independent worldwide sales, film financing, production and distribution company. Launched in 2010, HFG has had success across a wide range of film genres and platforms, building a reputation for handling high-octane films in the action/thriller/horror space, focusing on cast, director, and filmmaker driven content.

HFG’s diversified production and sales slate includes Allan Ungar’s action comedy London Calling starring Josh Duhamel and Jeremy Ray Taylor; Felipe Vargas’ high-concept horror film Rosario starring Emeraude Toubia and David Dastmalchian; William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth; Rod Blackhurst’s Tribeca Film Festival and Deauville title Blood For Dust starring Scoot McNairy, Kit Harington and Josh Lucas; Adam Cooper’s crime thriller Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan; Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel; Simon West’s action comedy Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman; the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut produced by Brad Fuller and starring Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne; Dimitri Logothetis’ actioner Gunner starring Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth; Benjamin Brewer’s survival action-thriller Arcadian starring Nicolas Cage; Rusty Cundieff’s sci-fi thriller 57 Seconds starring Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson; John Stalberg Jr.’s Muzzle starring Aaron Eckhart; and Adrian Grünberg’s shark actioner The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas.