Dane DeHaan–Led Action-Thriller Continues Strong Festival Momentum Ahead of Digital Release

Los Angeles, CA – March 24, 2026 – WARDRIVER, the high-stakes action-thriller from The Avenue, the U.S. distribution arm of Highland Film Group, won the Audience Award for Best Thriller Feature at the 2026 Cinequest Film Festival, further cementing its breakout momentum following its world premiere in competition.

The film debuted in Cinequest’s “Thriller” section on March 14 at the historic California Theater in San Jose, where it quickly emerged as a standout among this year’s genre offerings, earning both critical attention and audience buzz.

Directed by Rebecca Thomas (Netflix’s “Stranger Things”) and written by Daniel Casey (Universal’s F9: The Fast Saga, Paramount Pictures’ 10 Cloverfield Lane), WARDRIVER stars Dane DeHaan (Chronicle, The Amazing Spider-Man 2) and Sasha Calle (The Flash, Netflix’s ‘The Rip’), alongside Mamoudou Athie (Netflix’s ‘Archive 81’, The Drama) and Jeffrey Donovan (‘Burn Notice’).

In the film, Cole (Dane DeHaan) prowls the city “Wardriving” – hacking from his car and pulling off high tech robberies while always on the move. He convinces himself no one gets hurt, until black-market tech predator Oscar (Mamoudou Athie) forces him into a million-dollar cyber-heist. The job targets Sarah (Sasha Calle), a woman whose stolen fortune has made her a pawn in a deadly game. As the fallout turns violent and a mob connected lawyer (Jeffrey Donovan) closes in, Cole finds himself drawn to her. Determined to return the money, protect Sarah, and survive a deadly game of cat-and-mouse where every line of code could be his last.

The Cinequest win marks a major milestone for WARDRIVER as it builds momentum heading into its U.S. digital release on March 27, 2026 across major digital transactional retailers, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube Movies, Fandango at Home, and Google Play.

WARDRIVER is produced by Highland Film Group’s Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier (Land of Bad), David M. Wulf (Call Jane, The Card Counter), Star Thrower Entertainment’s Trevor White and Tim White (Fair Play, King Richard), with producers Daniel Casey and Dane DeHaan. Executive producers include Kevin Matusow, Lee Broda, Santosh Govindaraju, Jack Lehr, Jason Olsen and Morgan Magleby.

The project is presented by The Avenue and Highland Film Group, in association with Red Line Entertainment and Star Thrower Entertainment.

Additional film assets:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/gltjpwjrteob8dohi9tcc/AJyzVPzSPspMfH_I2gF6NHc?rlkey=rxut2a6su7yn4cdd47nyugphe&e=1&st=tap9gegb&dl=0

ABOUT WARDRIVER:
Directed by Rebecca Thomas and written by Daniel Casey, WARDRIVER stars Dane DeHaan and Sasha Calle, with Mamoudou Athie and Jeffrey Donovan. Produced by Arianne Fraser, Delphine Perrier, David M. Wulf, Trevor White and Tim White. Producers Daniel Casey and Dane DeHaan. Executive producers Kevin Matusow, Lee Broda, Santosh Govindaraju, Jack Lehr, Jason Olsen, Morgan Magleby. Director of Photography Htat Htut; Editor Kristi Shimek; Production designer Gabriel Jessop; costume designer Emerson Alvarez; music by Mark Hardison Garbett; Casting by Jennifer Buster. The Avenue and Highland Film Group present a Red Line Entertainment presentation of a Star Thrower Entertainment production.

ABOUT THE AVENUE:
Launched in 2020, The Avenue is HFG’s US distribution division and handles all aspects of distribution, from theatrical through home entertainment to television, SVOD and AVOD. The Avenue is dedicated to partnering with filmmakers and leading them into innovative ways of marketing and distribution so their stories can reach the widest audience. The Avenue has a partnership with Paramount Global to handle Blu-ray™, DVD, VOD, and Digital distribution. Films released under The Avenue label are a combination of film titles from Highland Film Group as well as third party acquisitions.

In 2025, The Avenue released the horror-thriller Locked produced by Sam Raimi and starring Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins and Simon West’s action-comedy Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman, which opened the Newport Beach Film Festival. Recent releases include William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth released on 1,300 screens in February 2024 and recently surged to the #1 spot on Netflix in the US; Adam

Cooper’s crime thriller Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan which just took the #1 spot on Hulu in the US; Rod Blackhurst’s Tribeca Film Festival and Deauville title Blood For Dust starring Scoot McNairy, Kit Harington and Josh Lucas; Rusty Cundieff’s sci-fi thriller 57 Seconds starring Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson; Adrian Grünberg’s shark actioner The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas; and Petr Jákl’s sweeping historical action epic Medieval starring Ben Foster, Sophie Lowe and Sir Michael Caine. The first feature film title released under the new stand-alone distribution banner was the martial arts sci-fi film Jiu Jitsu starring Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage and Frank Grillo, followed by Renny Harlin’s The Misfits, starring Pierce Brosnan, Nick Cannon and Tim Roth.

ABOUT CINEQUEST:
Cinequest empowers, discovers, and showcases great film, media, creativity, and technology. Cinequest engages artists and their creations with audiences—forging community, illumination, and joy. Based in Silicon Valley, Cinequest's powerful integration of creativity and technology inspires and transforms lives. Cinquest produces the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival, Cinejoy Virtual Festival, and Picture The Possibilities youth programs.

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