AMC Network's Independent Film Company acquired a new crime thriller, Violent Ends, in May 2025. The film stars two actors from AMC's Fear the Walking Dead, the first spinoff of The Walking Dead.
John-Michael Powell (The Send-Off) directs his second feature film, Violent Ends, and is produced by Vincent Sieber-Smith and Undine Buka. Executive producers include Catherine Fegan-Kim and Alex Kim via Midnight Road Entertainment and Billy Magnussen, who stars, via his banner, HappyBad Bungalow.
Fear the Walking Dead's Nick Stahl (Sin City) and Academy Award Winner Ray McKinnon (Knox Goes Away) star in the film, which is set in the Ozark Mountains. The movie is led by Billy Magnussen (Lilo & Stitch) and Alexandra Shipp (Barbie), who are joined by James Badge Dale (The Empty Man) and Emmy Award Winner Kate Burton (Grey’s Anatomy), rounding out the main cast.
The story follows Lucas Frost (Magnussen), a man raised by a crime family who tries to break free from that life with his fiancée Emma (Shipp). His cousin Eli pulls him back into his old life as they commit an armed robbery with brutal consequences.
Watch the official trailer for Violent Ends below. The movie premieres in theaters on October 31, 2025.
Stahl portrayed Jason Riley, a member of Teddy Maddox's (John Glover) Doomsday Cult, in Fear the Walking Dead. He was a cunning man who became Teddy's second-in-command. His backstory as a weapons officer of the USS Pennsylvania is told in the web series Fear the Walking Dead: Dead in the Water.
At the age of 13 Stahl received recognition for his role in The Man Without a Face starring Mel Gibson. He was a box office success in 2003 as John Connor in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. The actor is well known for his roles in Knights of the Zodiac, Tiny Beautiful Things, What You Wish For, and more.
Next, Stahl will star alongside Mena Suvari, Skeet Ulrich, and Elizabeth Marvel in Richard J. Bosner's horror film Devoted.
McKinnon appeared as Proctor John, president of the Proctors, in the third season of Fear the Walking Dead. He was a ruthless and greedy man whose group was just as violent before the outbreak.
The actor, screenwriter, director, and producer is well known for many movie and TV roles, including Apollo 13, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), the Oscar-winning short The Accountant, Deadwood, Sons of Anarchy, and Mayans M.C.
McKinnon wrote and directed Sundance TV's first original series, Rectify, which won a Peabody award in 2013.
He has been cast in Hulu's Prison Break reboot pilot that will be written by Elgin James. This series is set in the same world as the original series which aired on Fox but feature new characters and a new storyline. McKinnon will play Joe Dahl, who is described as a private detective investigating a decade old murder. The pilot began filming in June 2025, but no details regarding a release date has been announced.