# Nicolas Cage, Alexander Ludwig, Gabriel Basso & Maria Bakalova Set For True Crime Pic ‘The Brand’ Based On David Grann New Yorker Article About The Aryan Brotherhood — AFM

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/nicolas-cage-alexander-ludwig-gabriel-basso-maria-bakalova-set-for-true-crime-pic-the-brand-based-on-david-grann-new-yorker-article-about-the-aryan-brotherhood-afm/
- Published: 2026-11-04T23:31:19+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T00:50:58+00:00
- Original publisher: Deadline
- Original article: https://deadline.com/2026/11/nicolas-cage-alexander-ludwig-gabriel-basso-cast-the-brand-1237213610/
- Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, Film

## Key points

- Cage and Ludwig lead a film about prison gang power.
- The story follows a young inmate caught between loyalty and a new life.
- Pre-production is planned for early next year.

## Summary

Nicolas Cage, Alexander Ludwig, Gabriel Basso and Maria Bakalova are set to star in The Brand, a true crime film based on David Grann’s reporting about the Aryan Brotherhood. The project explores how organised crime grew within America’s prison system and how efforts to break up a prison gang helped extend its influence beyond prison walls.

Ludwig will play Taylor Hartman, a young prisoner mentored by Cage’s character, Carter Briggs, the feared leader of San Quentin’s dominant white prison gang. As Taylor gains power and builds a possible future with Lilly, played by Bakalova, he must choose between that life and loyalty to Carter. Vincent Grashaw will direct from a screenplay by Alessandro Camon; international sales begin at AFM, and pre-production is slated to start early next year.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.