Dylan Sprouse is facing some seriously karmic consequences in his new film, The Duel.
Lionsgate revealed a first look at the black comedy on Wednesday, June 26, which follows Sprouse, 31, as Colin, a guy who finds himself in hot water after sleeping with his best friend Woody’s (Callan Mcauliffe) girlfriend (Rachel Matthews). When Woody decides that no modern form of revenge would satisfy him, he challenges Colin to a gentlemen’s duel — to the death.
The film was written and directed by Justin Matthews and Luke Spencer Roberts, and features Sprouse in his first role as executive producer. Denny Love, Hart Denton, María Gabriela De Faría, Christian Mcgaffney, Ronald Guttman and Patrick Warburton also star. The Duel will show as a one-night-only theatrical event in partnership with Iconic Events on July 31 before becoming available on demand.
In the trailer released on Tuesday, Sprouse and Mcauliffe’s characters clearly start off as good buddies before Colin’s secret of sleeping with Woody’s girlfriend comes to light. The duo — along with their closest buddies — then embark on a quest to duel properly, from finding the right weapons to settling on the perfect location.
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The gang eventually drives out to the deserts of California to a mysterious mansion where they prepare for the final showdown with lavish dinners, drugs and high end tuxedos.
“Modern problems call for historic solutions,” the trailer’s logline reads.
The Duel may be Sprouse’s first time serving as EP, but his history in the entertainment industry is long. He and his twin brother, Cole Sprouse, have been acting since the early ‘90s, earning their big break with 1999’s Big Daddy split role of Julian. They later played twins Zach and Cody for Disney’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, as well as the show’s spinoff, The Suite Life on Deck, from 2005 to 2011.
After both taking a brief break from acting, the duo went their separate ways in their careers. Dylan, for his part, starred in a myriad of films since his 2017 return, including the After and Beautiful Disaster franchises. In July 2021, he published his first comic book series, Sun Eater.
In April 2023, Dylan opened up about his decision to return to acting after graduating from NYU.
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“I think, back then, when I was a child doing it, as many child actors do, you were kind of pushed into it by your parents in a lot of ways or the industry around you, because you were so young. It’s the same way they tell you to go to school, I was going to work,” he explained during a Today show appearance. “So, I think there was a point in my life where I asked myself, ‘Is this something that I actually love to do? Or is this something that I was pushed into?’ And I discovered, during my time away at college, that I do actually love to.”
The Duel hits select theaters on July 31 for one day before becoming available on demand.
