Black Demon Atlantis Wraps 27-Day Shoot in Bogota
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- Mucho Mas Media filmed "The Black Demon: Atlantis" in Bogotá, completing a 27-day shoot on July 1 after seven weeks of prep, with a giant water tank built inside a warehouse and additional sets in a TransMilenio underground facility.
- Javier Chapa credits Colombian production designer Carlos Osorio for introducing him to local partner Jaguar Bite, led by Simón Beltrán and JP Solano — the fourth Colombian collaboration after "The Long Game," "Rosario," and biopic "Jenni."
- Carmen Cabana, a Colombian-born cinematographer whose credits include "Narcos," "Resident Evil," and "Ms. Marvel," made her feature directorial debut on the sequel, with all department heads also Colombian — a deliberate push by Chapa to give first-time Latino filmmakers a shot.
- Jack Kesy stars as undercover DEA agent Jerry Simms, with Harold Torres as cult-like convict Diego Núñez and Julio César Cedillo as inmate Chato, in a story about a Pacific prison island terrorized by a returning megalodon linked to ancient powers and blood rituals.
- Bogotá's 8,660-foot altitude — the third-highest capital in the world — required the cast and crew to drink coca tea to acclimatize, and Chapa cited Colombia's "human capital" and cost-to-quality ratio as reasons his Texas-based company keeps returning.
- Highland Film Group is handling worldwide sales with a theatrical release planned before a streaming window; the original "The Black Demon" hit No. 1 on Prime Video in its first week.
Why it matters: The shoot signals Colombia's growing pull as a cost-effective production hub for genre films, with Mucho Mas Media choosing a Bogotá warehouse over a coastal location to build a contained water-tank set. A theatrical-first release strategy for the sequel — and the original's No. 1 Prime Video debut — positions Highland Film Group to capitalize on the franchise's proven streaming demand.
