We’re Not Getting Tired of the Post-Apocalyptic Monster Genre Any Time Soon, Especially When Nic Cage Is Involved

If there’s a Nic Cage super fan in your friend group (à la Jake Peralta or Abed Nadir), it’s time to batten down the hatches—there’s a new Cage movie on its way and it’s sure to re-adjust the delicate balance of the Cage-iverse. Here’s everything we have for you on Arcadian, including release date, cast, and more.

What is Arcadian about?

Described by Mashable as being A Quiet Place but loud, Arcadian is another of the post-apocalyptic monster genre that we (hi, I’m we) can’t seem to get enough of.

In the ruins of society, now filled with pollution and war (so, not that far off from today’s reality, really), Cage’s character, Paul, takes his twin sons, Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins) and Joseph (Jaeden Martell), to a secluded farmhouse to try and keep them safe from everything that’s going on. However it turns out that in addition to all the man made horrors out there, there are also actual monsters out there in the wild—possibly from outer space?

The characters theorise they’ve turned up to cleanse the earth of humans over what we’ve done to the climate, living underground and coming above at night. For a while they get by by going inside and barricading the house after dark but when Thomas doesn’t come home one night after going to meet a girl (Sadie Soverall), Paul’s going to have to go out and fetch him back himself. Cue the gruelling survival/action portion of the film and plenty of Nic Cage facial expressions.

Director Benjamin Brewer told EW he sees the film as a coming of age movie in a Mad Max-style setting with a “dark fairytale hue”, which, frankly, yes please, as well as an exploration of brotherly love. Also featuring; climate avenging aliens apparently.

The official trailer for Arcadian hit YouTube ahead of the movie’s theatrical release date of April 12, 2024.

Whose behind Arcadian?

The Trust director Benjamin Brewer reunited with Cage to direct Arcadian. Writer Michael Nilon has also worked with Cage before, on the 2014 Left Behind movie that’s surprisingly watchable despite being a piece of right wing Evangelical propaganda. (He’s also his agent and manager, so there’s that.) It’s a weird kind of reunion going on here but hey, it looks like it worked.

Anything else?

Arcadian was originally titled Sand and Stones. Why the change? Currently we have no idea, but maybe when the film premieres we’ll find out.

(Image: Highland Film Group)