Jack Kesy followed in the footsteps of Ron Perlman and David Harbour to play Hellboy in Hellboy: The Crooked Man, and one year ago, it was announced that Kesy is following in the footsteps of Josh Lucas to take on a giant shark in The Black Demon: Atlantis, a sequel to the 2023 shark thriller The Black Demon, which starred Lucas and was directed by Rambo: Last Blood director Adrian Grunberg. Production is now underway on the shark flick, with cinematographer Carmen Cabana making her feature directorial debut at the helm.
What is The Black Demon: Atlantis about?
The Black Demon was about a massive megalodon trapping a group of people on an oil rig. Scripted by Boise Esquerra, who was also a writer on The Black Demon, and Aaron Benjamin, with revisions by Cabana, the sequel has the following synopsis:
After the global success of The Black Demon, the beast returns faster, fiercer, and deadlier than ever in Atlantis, a remote maximum-security prison in the Pacific Ocean. Undercover DEA agent Jerry Simms (Jack Kesy) arrives at the offshore fortress run by the enigmatic Warden Reyes after his operative mysteriously disappears while investigating inmate deaths tied to Diego Núñez, a feared cult-like killer rumored to wield ancient powers. As mutilated bodies surface around the prison and whispers of blood rituals spread through the cell blocks, Atlantis spirals into fear, violence, and chaos. Forced to rely on Chato, a haunted inmate who knows the prison’s hidden underworld, Jerry is pulled into a desperate fight for survival when the legendary Black Demon tears into Atlantis, turning it into a nightmarish war zone.
Kesy is joined in the cast by Vanesa Restrepo (The Surrogacy) as Warden Reyes, Anthony Del Negro (Running Point) as the missing operative, Harold Torres (ZeroZeroZero) as Diego Núñez, and Julio Cesar Cedillo (The Harder They Fall) as Chato, a character he also played in the first movie.
When the project was first announced, Ben Hernandez Bray was attached to direct, but he dropped out sometime in the last year.
Filming is taking place in Colombia. Javier Chapa is producing The Black Demon: Atlantis for Mucho Mas Media and Arianne Fraser, Delphine Perrier, and Caleb Ward for Highland Film Group. Kristopher Wynne, Simon Beltran, Juan Pablo Solano, Robert Muñoz, Harry Ahluwalia, Christian Sosa, Jon Wroblewski, and Scott Likens serve as executive producers alongside Wonder Street’s Mark Holder, Christine Holder, and Bryan Coyne and Goldrush Entertainment’s Eric Gozlan. Highland Film Group is financing the film with Mucho Mas Media.
Jaguar Bite is the production service company, and Burning Bull the stunts company. The project has received approval to obtain the CINA incentive (Audiovisual Investment Certificate), granted by the Colombian government and administered by Proimágenes Colombia.
What has been said about The Black Demon: Atlantis?
“The beast is back and ready for more! It’s fantastic to work again with producer Javier Chapa following the success of our first creature collaboration. With the help of our terrific international partners, we look forward to introducing this sensational new installment to audiences around the world,” said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser.
“Helmed by visionary cinematographer Carmen Cabana, The Black Demon: Atlantis is big in scale and wide in scope and will feature spectacular action sequences full of tension and suspense,” added Highland Film Group COO Delphine Perrier.
Cabana has twenty years of cinematography credits to her name, including episodes of Narcos, Vida, High Fidelity, Ms. Marvel, and Resident Evil.
Distribution deals have already been secured with Vertigo Releasing for the UK and Canada, Leonine Studios for Germany, IIF for Italy, Mis.Label for Scandinavia, NOS Lusomondo for Portugal, Three Lines Pictures for Benelux, Mediasquad for Poland, Blitz Film for Ex-Yugoslavia, Foxx Media Group for Czech Republic/Slovakia, Karpat Media for Romania, Sun Distribution for Latin America, Chantier Films for Turkey, Falcon Films for the Middle East, Filmfinity for South Africa, Rialto Distribution for Australia/New Zealand, Nikkatsu/AMG for Japan, Kinolights for South Korea, Lionsgate Play for India, Pioneer Films for the Philippines, Antenna Entertainments for Malaysia and PT Prima Cinema for Indonesia, Moviecloud for Taiwan, Movie Copyright for Thailand, and PictureWorks for airline rights.
Have you seen The Black Demon, and are you interested in the sequel The Black Demon: Atlantis? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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