Hollywood actor Dylan Sprouse stars in new movie 'The Duel,' filmed in Indianapolis

Indiana will co-star in a new movie with Disney child star-turned-adult lead Dylan Sprouse. But instead of the state playing itself, several Hoosier locations — including Indianapolis — appear dressed up as Los Angeles, San Diego and Mexico.

“The Duel” premieres March 3 at the Mammoth Film Festival in California. Filmmakers made it quietly in the fall of 2020, adhering to stringent safety standards, including regular COVID tests, during the early pandemic, said Zachary Spicer, CEO and co-owner of Pigasus Pictures, a Hoosier company known for filming titles in Indiana with Hollywood and local actors.

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This time, producers Spicer and Gordon Strain of Pigasus worked with executive producer and star Sprouse as well as producers Justin Matthews and Joe Matthews. Sprouse came to popularity in the Disney Channel hit “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” before going on to roles in films “Banana Split” and “The Curse of Turandot.”

The filmmakers say the movie will come to Indiana later this year.

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"We are really excited about premiering this kind of hidden secret movie here," Spicer said.

Plot of 'The Duel'

The 90-minute movie follows a group of friends in their 20s who experience upheaval when Colin (Sprouse) sleeps with Woody’s girlfriend Abbie. A history enthusiast, the offended party challenges Colin to the type of duel that took place in a bygone era, sending the group on a trip to a mysterious estate in an unnamed spot in Mexico.

"It's part women-empowerment because the female characters seek out say in this ridiculous situation," said Gordon, co-owner of Pigasus. "It's definitely funny; it definitely has some dramatic moments."

Callan McAuliffe, from “The Walking Dead” and 2013’s “The Great Gatsby," plays Woody. Rachel Matthews, known for “Happy Death Day" and "Happy Death Day 2U," is Abbie.

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Well-known sites around Indianapolis and southern Indiana star alongside the actors.

Standing in as a Los Angeles tiki bar is Fountain Square’s Inferno Room. The neighborhood's former Peppy Grill, now World Famous HotBoys, plays a spot in San Diego. Lake Michigan has a cameo as the Pacific Ocean. Marengo Cave in southern Indiana is the entrance to a cave where the group crosses the border into Mexico, and Bluespring Caverns plays the cave itself.

And the mysterious Mexican estate? That would be Asherwood, Mel Simon’s former Carmel mansion that’s been valued at $30 million.

How 'The Duel' came to be filmed in Indiana

Pigasus Pictures has been behind a string of movies, including 2017’s “The Good Catholic,” 2019’s “The Miseducation of Bindu” and 2022's "So Cold the River."

The company’s 2019 movie “Ms. White Light” planted the seed for “The Duel” to be filmed in Indiana, Strain said. Rachel Matthews, who played a nurse in the earlier movie, mentioned Pigasus to her brother Justin Matthews, who was seeking a cost-efficient way to shoot a script he’d co-written with Luke Spencer Roberts, Strain said.

The Pigasus co-owners loved what they read. The writers had a connection to Sprouse, Strain said, who joined the filmmaking process. The far-fetched and escape-like feel of "The Duel" captured Strain personally, he said.

"We're talking, like, walking 10 paces, turning and shooting — the whole bit," he said.

Also starring in “The Duel” are María Gabriela de Faría (“The Moodys”), Denny Love (“Looking for Alaska”), Hart Denton (“Outsiders”), Ronald Guttman ("The Hunt for Red October") and Patrick Warburton (“Seinfeld”). Roberts and Justin Matthews co-directed.

For updates on “The Duel,” follow Pigasus Pictures on Facebook and Instagram.

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Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.