Angel has acquired worldwide rights to "Rode To Ruin," a Western directed by and starring Michael Keaton alongside Morgan Freeman, marking the two actors' first on-screen reunion since 1988's "Clean and Sober." The deal is notable not just for the star pairing but because it comes as Angel launches an international sales arm, with the film being pre-sold ahead of the TIFF market next week — the company's first venture into presales rather than waiting for a finished product.

The film, due in 2027 with no start date yet set, follows a retired US Marshal whose 40-year hunt for his wife's killer leads him to a memory-fading outlaw and a buried truth. It is written by R. Dean McCreary and produced by Lori McCreary, Keaton, Kelly Mendelsohn and Gary Lucchesi, with rights acquired from Revelations Entertainment and Keaton's George & Leona Productions. Angel, whose "Guild" members vote on which projects get distributed, already has overseas distribution partners across more than 95 countries and says presales will help fund future titles the Guild wants made.