Neon sets eight-strong cast for Alex Ullom's '4 X 4: The Event' as his debut 'It Ends' readies for release
Neon has assembled the lead cast for 4 X 4: The Event, the second feature from writer-director Alex Ullom, with principal photography already in the can and his debut film arriving in cinemas this Friday (Deadline).
The eight-actor ensemble spans a striking range of rising talent: Sophia Lillis, Dylan Minnette, Quintessa Swindell, Maddie Phillips, Marcel Ruiz, Mitchell Cole, Jaden Smith, and Jacob Tremblay. Character details are being kept under wraps. The premise, though, is public — eight contestants enter an illegal sensory-assault livestream where they must kill or be killed using only what they can order online (Deadline).
Neon took worldwide rights to the project earlier this year, with the deal hatched at the Sundance Film Festival in January, though the film itself did not screen at the festival (Deadline). Kate Gondwe negotiated for Neon, with UTA Independent Film Group representing the filmmakers (Deadline).
The production roster runs deep. Spooky Pictures and Image Nation Studios co-produced under their multi-title partnership — a deal first reported by Deadline in November 2025 — alongside Divide/Conquer and Phobos (Deadline). Producers include Roy Lee and Steven Schneider for Spooky Pictures, Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath for Divide/Conquer, Chris Ferguson and Osgood Perkins for Phobos, Haley Johnson for Under the Shell, and Evan Barber for Barbershop. Executive producers include Ben Ross for Image Nation Studios, Jakob Pollack and Rami Yasin for Spooky Pictures, and Jesse Savath and Marlaina Mah for Phobos Pictures (Deadline).
Ullom is building quickly. His debut feature, It Ends, follows four recent college graduates on a late-night food run that turns into a nightmare, and stars Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, and Mitchell Cole — who also appears in the 4 X 4: The Event ensemble. Neon lists It Ends as up next on its slate alongside James Gray's Paper Tiger and Na Hong-jin's Hope (Neon). The distributor's library spans more than 140 films. Ullom is represented by UTA, Entertainment 360, and McKuin Frankel Whitehead (Deadline).
What makes the picture notable is the velocity. Ullom's first film has not yet opened — it arrives this Friday — and his second is already shot, cast, and secured for worldwide distribution. That two-feature cadence, anchored by a single distributor, is the kind of runway most first-time directors spend years chasing.
