Cannes, France (May 15, 2026) – Highland Film Group announced today that it has locked distribution deals in key international territories in all media for the shark survival actioner The Black Demon: Atlantis starring Jack Kesy (Hellboy: The Crooked Man, 20th Century Fox’s Deadpool 2) and Julio César Cedillo (Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario, Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico” and The Harder They Fall). Newly joining the cast are Harold Torres (John Woo’s Silent Night, Martin Campbell’s Memory, Amazon Prime’s “ZeroZeroZero”), Vanesa Restrepo (AMC’s “Surviving The Cartel,” Netflix’s “The Surrogacy”) and Anthony Del Negro (Netflix’s “Running Point”) with production underway in Colombia.
The sequel to The Black Demon is directed by cinematographer Carmen Cabana (“Resident Evil,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Narcos: S2”), a thriller and action aficionado whose expertise in crafting high-octane, visually stunning sequences brings pulse-pounding intensity to the screen. The film is written by Aaron Benjamin (The Nest) Boise Esquerra (Austin Film Festival award-winner “Blackwater,” The Black Demon) and Cabana.
Highland Film Group has sold the rights to The Black Demon: Atlantis to 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.
The sequel comes after the success of The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas, which, following its theatrical release in 2023, claimed the #1 spot on Amazon’s streaming rankings for seven consecutive days.
Teaming up to produce again are Javier Chapa for Mucho Mas Media (The Long Game, Rosario starring Emeraude Toubia and David Dastmalchian) and Arianne Fraser, Delphine Perrier and Caleb Ward for Highland Film Group. The Black Demon: Atlantis is executive produced by Kristopher Wynne, Simon Beltran, Juan Pablo Solano, Robert Muñoz, Harry Ahluwalia, Christian Sosa, Jon Wroblewski and Scott Likens 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 and handling worldwide rights to The Black Demon: Atlantis.
Jaguar Bite is serving as the production service company with Burning Bull (Ang Lee’s Gemini Man, Amazon’s “Jack Ryan”) serving as 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.
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 (Vanesa Restrepo) after his operative (Anthony Del Negro) mysteriously disappears while investigating inmate deaths tied to Diego Núñez (Harold Torres), 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 (Julio César Cedillo), 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.
“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.
Harold Torres was nominated for Best Male Actor in a new scripted series at the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards for his role in Amazon’s limited series “ZeroZeroZero,” opposite Dane DeHaan and Andrea Riseborough. Currently, he can be seen as the male lead in Netflix’s Imagine series “The Gringo Hunters,” produced by Brian Grazer. Torres recently starred in John Woo‘s Lionsgate feature Silent Night opposite Joel Kinnaman. Previously, he led the Black Bear Pictures feature Memory, directed by Martin Campbell alongside Liam Neeson and Guy Pierce. Torres also starred in the History Channel’s miniseries “Texas Rising,” with Bill Paxton, and in the Netflix series “Ingobernable” and “El Chapo.” He was seen in Rudo y Cursi alongside Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, as well as Cary Joji Fukunaga‘s debut feature Sin Nombre.
Vanesa Restrepo was most recently seen in AMC’s “Surviving The Cartel.” The hugely successful independent series was acquired by AMC and greenlit for Season 2 which centered on a Silicon Valley executive, a farmer and a Texas detective. Additional credits for Vanesa include a guest appearance on CBS’ popular “FBI” series, the Netflix feature “The Surrogacy” and “La Muchacha Que Limpia” for HBO Latin America.
Anthony Del Negro is currently filming Mister opposite Walton Goggins and Chloe Moretz for Wade Eastwood and recently wrapped The Marshal opposite Guy Pearce for Andrew Baird as well as the big action Barracuda for Neil Burger opposite Anthony Mackie.
Julio César Cedillo is best known for his work in Denis Villeneuve‘s gritty feature Sicario, where he faces off with Benicio Del Toro. Their scene became one of the most memorable scenes of its genre. Fans have also come to know Julio as “Guillermo González Calderoni,” the complex man who takes down Diego Luna’s “Felix Gallardo” in Netflix’s international hit series “Narcos: Mexico.”Additional credits include “The Harder They Fall” for Netflix and Amazon’s “A Million Miles Away.” Julio also starred as the titular character in the Cannes winning film The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada opposite Tommy Lee Jones. Next up, Julio stars in various features; Bethesda, a neo-Western thriller directed by Andrew & Isaac Lewis and Anima, a psychological, horror film written and directed by Andrés Beltrán. Julio will also be seen in The Holiday Hitman, an action comedy directed by Bradley Stryker.
Highland Film Group’s current slate also includes Lisette Feliciano’s Iron Jane starring Eiza Gonzalez and Brandon Sklenar; Neil Burger’s action-thriller Barracuda starring Anthony Mackie and Dafne Keen; Justin Chadwick’s action spy-thriller The Mark starring Jessica Alba, Tom Hopper and Elsa Pataky; Martin Campbell‘s thriller Just Play Dead starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Green; The Black Demon: Atlantis starring Jack Kesy; Pierre Morel’s action thriller The Good Samaritan starring Daisy Ridley, Josh Duhamel and Sharlto Copley; the espionage action thriller Stratagem starring Noomi Rapace and Teo Yoo and Brad Anderson’s psychological thriller Moral Capacity starring Dacre Montgomery, Diane Lane, Sofia Boutella and Tim Robbins.
Torres is repped by Mosaic and Allen Vainshtein of Vainshtain Law; Cedillo is repped by Buchwald and Spellbound Entertainment; Restrepo is repped by Spellbound & SMS Talent; Del Negro is repped by Wonder Street.
ABOUT HIGHLAND FILM GROUP
Led by founding partners Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Highland Film Group (HFG) is an award-winning global studio with end-to-end capabilities, driving films from development to release. HFG operates as a producer, financier, distributor and sales agent, with an in-house team that oversees global productions and acquisitions. Launched in 2010, HFG delivers standout films across a wide range of genres and platforms, building a reputation for producing high-octane films in the action, thriller and horror space. In 2020, the studio expanded into U.S. distribution with the successful launch of The Avenue, HFG’s dedicated label managing all release windows, from theatrical through home entertainment to television, SVOD and AVOD.
HFG’s diversified production and sales slate includes William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth released on 1,300 screens in February 2024 and surged to the #1 spot on Netflix in the US; Benjamin Brewer’s survival action-thriller Arcadian starring Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage, official selection at SXSW; Adam Cooper’s crime thriller Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan which took the #1 spot on Hulu in the U.S. last year; Adrian Grünberg’s shark actioner The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas which claimed the #1 spot on Amazon’s streaming rankings for seven consecutive days following its theatrical release in 2023; the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut produced by Brad Fuller and starring Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne, world premiere at SXSW; Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel; Adrian Grünberg’s action thriller Protector starring Milla Jovovich and Justin Chadwick’s action thriller Sierra Madre starring Kiefer Sutherland.
New projects include Neil Burger’s action thriller Barracuda starring Anthony Mackie and Dafne Keen; Justin Chadwick’s action spy-thriller The Mark starring Jessica Alba, Tom Hopper and Elsa Pataky; Martin Campbell‘s thriller Just Play Dead starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Green; Brad Anderson’s psychological thriller Moral Capacity starring Dacre Montgomery, Diane Lane, Sofia Boutella and Tim Robbins; the espionage action thriller Stratagem starring Noomi Rapace and Teo Yoo; Pierre Morel’s action thriller The Good Samaritan starring Daisy Ridley and the acclaimed cyber heist thriller LifeHack from producer Timur Bekmambetov, official selection at SXSW and the Fantasia International Film Festival.
Previous titles include Joe Carnahan’s Boss Level starring Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson and Frank Grillo; Lin Oeding’s thriller Braven starring Jason Momoa; Scott Mann’s Final Score starring Dave Bautista and Pierce Brosnan; Berlin, I Love You with Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jim Sturgess, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna and Jenna Dewan Tatum, and Vaughn Stein’s Terminal starring Margot Robbie and Simon Pegg.
PR via Maxine Leonard PR