Ray Mendoza made a major impression last year with “Warfare,” the bruising, real-time Iraq War drama he co-directed alongside Alex Garland (“Civil War”) for A24. Now, the former Navy SEAL and military advisor is pivoting from modern combat to the American frontier with “Blood On The Promontory,” a survival Western that’s beginning to round out an impressive ensemble cast.
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According to Deadline, the film has added Sam Worthington, Jai Courtney, Jack Quaid, Jaeden Martell, and LaMonica Garrett. They join previously announced cast members Marisa Abela and Ethan Embry in the project, which Mendoza will direct solo.
Written by Evan Cooper, “Blood On The Promontory” follows five convicts chained together by the foot after a train robbery goes violently wrong. Forced into the wilderness while being hunted through the mountains, the fugitives must survive both the landscape and one another. The setup sounds closer to a stripped-down survival thriller than a traditional sprawling Western, which tracks with Mendoza’s grounded, tactile sensibilities as a filmmaker.
Before stepping behind the camera, Mendoza spent years working in Hollywood as a military consultant and technical advisor on projects including “Lone Survivor,” “Jurassic World,” and Garland’s “Civil War.” But “Warfare” changed the conversation around him entirely. The film’s immersive, almost documentary-like intensity — built around Mendoza’s own experiences during the Iraq War — established him as more than a behind-the-scenes authenticity expert. It announced a filmmaker with a stark, muscular visual style and a deep understanding of chaos, tension, and procedural realism.
“Blood On The Promontory” appears poised to build on that momentum, albeit through a different historical lens. And the cast itself suggests a project that balances prestige performers with younger, genre-friendly talent. Worthington has been busy returning to blockbuster territory through the “Avatar” sequels, Courtney recently appeared in “Dangerous Animals” and continues to remain a reliable presence across studio action films and prestige streaming projects alike, Quaid continues to ride the success of “The Boys,” and Martell remains one of the more dependable young actors working today after projects like “It” and “Knives Out.”
Nina Yang Bongiovi, Paul Hadad, Glenn Kleczkowski, and Mark Gillard are producing, with Danny Peykoff executive producing through Big Newport Studios. Production is reportedly underway in Utah.
No distributor or release date has been announced yet, but with a cast like this and an emerging director like Mendoza at the helm, it’s probably only a matter of time.
