Just weeks after his character was killed off on “Dallas,” Jesse Metcalfe has been cast as the lead in Legendary’s Digital Media and Crackle’s digital feature “Dead Rising: Watchtower,” which is based on the bestselling video game about a zombie outbreak.
Meghan Ory (“Once Upon a Time”) and Virginia Madsen (“Sideways”) will co-star alongside Dennis Haysbert, whose casting was first reported by TheWrap.
Principal photography will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 30, in Vancouver.
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“Dead Rising: Watchtower” takes place during a large-scale zombie outbreak. When a mandatory government vaccine fails to stop the infection from spreading, the four leads must evade infection while also pursuing the root of the epidemic, with all signs pointing to a government conspiracy. Politics, public paranoia, and media coverage play an important role in the story’s narrative.
Zach Lipovsky is directing the project, which was written by Tim Carter, who will also produce with Tomas Harlan under their Contradiction Films banner. Contradiction most recently produced the hit digital series “Mortal Kombat: Legacy.” Lorenzo di Bonaventura (“Transformers”) will executive produce.
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Crackle will debut “Dead Rising: Watchtower” in its feature-length form in the U.S. After Crackle’s exclusive distribution run, the project will also be released on SVOD, DVD, VOD and TV. Content Media Corporation will distribute “Dead Rising: Watchtower” in both feature-length and episodic formats for all international platforms.
The “Dead Rising” game franchise has sold over 7.6 million copies worldwide.