Danielle Deadwyler Defends the Farm in Magnolia’s Apocalyptic Thriller 40 Acres

Danielle Deadwyler leads a family’s final stand in 40 Acres, a gripping vision of survival and sacrifice.

Danielle Deadwyler Fights for Family and Land in Magnolia’s Post-Apocalyptic Thriller 40 Acres

Today, Magnolia Pictures unveiled the gripping trailer for 40 Acres, the bold feature debut from filmmaker R.T. Thorne. Starring Danielle Deadwyler (Till), this near-future action-thriller follows a family living off-grid in a world decimated by famine, as they fight to preserve their land—and their humanity—at any cost. Magnolia will release 40 Acres in theaters nationwide on July 2, 2025.

Set after a mysterious plague has wiped out all animal life and pushed society into collapse, 40 Acres introduces Hailey (Deadwyler), a former soldier who has carved out a life of strict isolation for her family on their ancestral farm. Together with her partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes), she’s trained their children to survive—and to kill. But when her eldest son Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor) meets a girl (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) in the forest beyond the fence, his desire for connection threatens everything they’ve built.

Visceral, emotional, and deeply relevant, 40 Acres is a tense and timely survival story exploring what happens when the will to protect collides with the need to live.

A bold, no-holds-barred action-thriller from debut filmmaker R.T. Thorne starring acclaimed actress Danielle Deadwyler, 40 ACRES is set in a famine-decimated near future where a former soldier (Deadwyler) and her family struggle to safeguard their farm as they make one last stand against a vicious militia hell-bent on taking their land.

In the film, after a plague eradicates all animal life, famine spreads across the globe leaving society at war and in ruins, but the Freemans are surviving — even thriving — on their ancestral farm so long as they dispatch the occasional raiding party. But what good is surviving the end of the world if it means snuffing out your own humanity? Former soldier Hailey (Deadwyler) made that choice years ago, believing that isolation was the only way to protect her family. She and her partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes) fled the collapse along with their children, fenced them off from the world and trained them to fight (and, yes, kill). But now Hailey’s eldest Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor) is a young man, and when he meets a young woman (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) in the forest beyond the fence, his need for human contact could place the whole family in jeopardy.

Directed by R.T. Thorne

Written by R.T. Thorne, Glenn Taylor

Story by Lora Campbell

Starring Danielle Deadwyler, Kataem O'Connor, Michael Greyeyes, Milcania Diaz-Rojas