Former Cubs Infielder Adrian Cardenas Wraps Directing Debut in Miami

Writer Adrian Cardenas is making his directing debut with In An Orderly Fashion, a feature that has just finished shooting in Miami, Deadline reported on 21 October 2026.

Cardenas is a Miami native who spent time in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs before turning to screenwriting. He announced on his Instagram account that he had written and would direct the film, and that filming had wrapped.

The cast is led by Oscar Nuñez, who plays Rafa, a physical therapist. On the first day of his retirement, Rafa receives a terminal diagnosis. He then asks his wife, Aida, a nurse played by Marlene Forte, to end his life without him knowing when. Otmara Marrero plays Gabriela and Vivian Ruiz plays Maria. Nuñez and Forte are also among the executive producers.

Maria Altamirano produces the film. Tyler Bagley, Barker Carlock and Derrick Nevot are co-producers.

The project has been on the industry's radar for a while. Variety reported in June 2025 that In an Orderly Fashion was on the slate for the Accelerator Program, a development scheme, and in May 2024 that it was among the finalists for the Tribeca Festival's Untold Stories programme in New York. Both listings were tied to Cardenas as director.

For a first-time director, finishing a shoot is the point where a film stops being a script and becomes footage. What comes next, including editing, festival entries and sales, is set by the people who control the finished cut. Those decisions are still ahead for this project.