RLJE Films acquired Peter Cilella's feature directorial debut, Descendent, ahead of the film's SXSW premiere in 2025. The movie is led by The Walking Dead's Ross Marquand, who was introduced to AMC's series in season 5.
Marquand portrays Sean Bruner, a school security guard who wrestles with childhood trauma, in the sci-fi story set in Los Angeles. Sean and his wife Andrea (Sarah Bolger) are expecting their first child, but an unexplained event drastically changes his life. After seeing a mysterious beam of light during a graveyard shift, Sean awakens in the hospital with new abilities that find him "creating vivid, unsettling drawings of extraterrestrials and desert landscapes".
Additional cast members include Charlene Amoia, Brandon Scott, Alexandra Barreto, Dan O'Brien, Susan Wilder, Alex Ruiz, Clare Cooney, and Emily Pendergast.
Written and directed by Cilella, the film is produced by the filmfilmmaking duo of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, known for their work on the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again. David Lawson Jr. and Caleb Ward also produce with Arianne Fraser, Delphine Perrier, Henry Winterstern, and Mark Ward serving as executive producers.
On August 15, the film saw a limited theatrical release and became available via VOD on all major platforms. Descendent has earned an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, with one critic stating, "Among its other virtues, Descendent is a classic example of how a low-budget movie can do more with less."
Check out the official trailer for Descendent below.
Marquand is well known for his portrayal of Aaron in AMC's The Walking Dead. Introduced in season 5, Aaron was a recruiter who brought Rick Grimes' group to the community of Alexandria. He eventually became a leader of the communities and, despite losing his hand in season 9, survived the conclusion of the series in 2022. One of his best TWD performances can be seen in episode 1019, "One More," with Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel, and Robert Patrick in dual roles as Mays and his brother.
The actor has recently been a guest at numerous conventions, including upcoming appearances at the Salt Lake Comic Convention in September and Metro-Con in October. He is famous for his spot-on voice impressions of celebrities, including Matthew McConaughey, Christopher Walken, Michael Caine, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, George Clooney, Liam Neeson, Justin Timberlake, James Gandolfini, John C. Reilly, James Spader, and more.
Marquand is known for his work within the MCU. In Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, he voiced and portrayed Red Skull. In Avengers: Damage Control, he voiced Ultron and then again in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as an alternate version of the character.
In 2024, he voiced Music Man/Metro Man in Megamind Rules an animated DreamWorks series, and Han Solo in LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy.
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