RLJE Films has picked up the U.S. rights to the action/adventure pic Prisoners of the Ghostland, starring Nicolas Cage, ahead of its world premiere at Sundance.
The post-apocalyptic action-horror is the first English-language film from Japanese auteur Sion Sono. “We’re excited to once again work with Nicolas Cage on a highly-anticipated film directed by the celebrated Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono,” Mark Ward, chief acquisitions officer of RLJE Films said in a statement.
RLJE Films released Mandy, which also starred Cage, after that pic debuted at Sundance in 2018. XYZ Films produced Prisoners of the Ghostland and is handling world sales.
Prisoners of the Ghostland is set in the treacherous frontier city of Samurai Town where a ruthless bank robber (Cage) is sprung from jail by wealthy warlord The Governor, played by Bill Moseley, after his adopted granddaughter Bernice (Sofia Boutella) has gone missing. Cage’s bandit character sets off on a journey to find the young woman, and his own path to redemption.
The Patriot Pictures film was fully financed by Union Patriot Capital Management. Prisoners of the Ghostland was written by Aaron Hendry and Rexa Sixo Safai and also stars Nick Cassavetes, Tak Sakaguchi and Yuzuka Nakaya.
The executive producer credits are shared by Natalie Perrotta, Nick Spicer, Aram Tertzakian and Yuji Sadai. XYZ Films worked earlier with Cage on Mandy and Color Out of Space.
Ward and Jess DeLeo from RLJE Films negotiated the deal with Nate Bolotin from XYZ Films on behalf of the filmmakers.
