A Midwest entertainment operation has officially shifted from organizing live events to producing its first full-length feature film, launching its inaugural genre slate.
“We're building a version of America that never existed, where monsters inhabit the forests and plains instead of boardrooms and private islands.”— David William James ElliottLOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, July 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Following its high-profile reorganization from a live-event coordination collective into a full-service independent film and digital media production company in March of this year, Commodicon has now confirmed the active development of its first narrative feature, The Cursed and the Dead: Silver and Lead.
Billed as an expansive, high-concept western-horror fusion, the film depicts an alternate pre-industrial American frontier where indigenous folklore, regional cryptids, and ancient occult magic coexist. The story outlines a violent, decades-long blood feud between an unnamed itinerant sheriff called “The Lawman” by local townspeople and the mysterious, supernatural figure “Mister Cross.” Production design documents reveal a strongly atmospheric visual palette that includes swampy southern bayous, abandoned deep-shaft iron mines, and untouched high-altitude pine forests. All special effects are slated to be fully practical, with several prominent effects teams already lined up to help create everything from a Louisiana variation of the Baba Yaga to a Sasquatch that engages in hand-to-hand combat with a seven-foot drifter.
Acclaimed author Avi Llio is attached to write the screenplay, adapting the cult-classic dark western mythology he originally developed in the early 2010s. Although the original multi-book literary saga was tragically cut short following the sudden, highly publicized collapse of independent publisher Ixtab Media, Llio is expanding the lore for the cinematic format.
“The ultimate goal for these characters and this world was always the big screen,” Llio said in a statement from his study. “The structural collapse of small-press print distribution in the mid-2010s was a devastating setback at the time, but in hindsight, it preserved the integrity of the property. I am incredibly grateful to finally show the world the scope of what has been trapped in my head for over a decade now.”
Award-winning director, cinematic recluse, and professional voice-over actor and model David William James Elliott is attached to direct the feature. Elliott—who rose to fame in the early 2010s before famously stepping away from the public eye after declining an invitation to join the cast of Saturday Night Live, and who just this spring earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the world-renowned Gracie family—is moving away from investigative documentary journalism to lead the production.
Elliott is coming off a prolific year, following the success of his widely discussed, genre-bending investigative documentaries I Forgot to Unsubscribe from a Stock Footage Service and Hypernormalization 2: Revenge of the Titans. Both of these genre-bending documentaries screened at multiple festivals around the world and collected dozens of awards ranging from Best Narration to Best Stunt, leaving critics astonished by the unique blend of metafictional documentary, investigative journalism, and Lynchian existential horror.
“You don’t spend years working in the production orbits of Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan without absorbing the fundamental architecture of scale and cinematic atmosphere,” said Elliott. “Documentary filmmaking is a vital, challenging career, but world-building is my primary artistic passion. Stepping back into the narrative saddle alongside Avi and the Commodicon team was the easiest creative decision of my fiscal year,” David said from the confines of his three-story converted warehouse film and art studio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Production Trivia and Industry Tidbits:
IP Moneyball: Commodicon is aiming to apply metrics to their film production. By acquiring notable but commercially unviable intellectual properties such as The Cursed and The Dead, the goal is not only to secure compelling stories at a fraction of their value but also to give a second life to fantastical tales that would otherwise remain confined to Goodreads history.
The BJJ Protocol: Sources close to the production report that Elliott, a notorious stickler for physical discipline and martial arts conditioning on set, has mandated that all principal cast members undergo basic defensive grappling training before shooting begins.
A “Gracie” Influence: Rumors persist that the film’s elaborate hand-to-hand combat choreography will heavily feature traditional Gracie-style ground defense, adapted for 19th-century frontier environments.
Casting Secrets: Casting is currently underway across several regional hubs, with multiple supporting roles already formally offered to emerging theater talent from Chicago, Minneapolis, and New York. Several cameos from David’s time as a comedy writer and show runner based in Chicago are expected, with former cast and crew members posting photos of themselves in costume on their personal Instagram accounts. However, production executives have confirmed that the lead roles of “The Lawman” and “Mister Cross” remain a tightly guarded secret.
Principal photography is scheduled to begin on location in Koreatown and the Pacific Northwest in late September 2026.
About Commodicon:
Originally founded as a premier live entertainment and regional event coordination company, Commodicon restructured in Q1 2026 to form a specialized independent film and creative media production house. Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the banner focuses on high-concept genre pieces, auteur-driven narratives, and cutting-edge digital media distribution models.
Rafael Mendoza
Commodicon
press@commodicon.com
