Between four seasons on Arrow, and his upcoming role in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows, Stephen Amell knows his way around superheroes pretty well by this point. Now, he’s using that comic-book-based skill—and his own personal superpower, i.e., having a massive social media presence to tap into and ask for cash—to crowdsource and executive produce his first film. Teaming up with his cousin (and occasional CW co-star) Robbie Amell, the Arrow star is working on Code 8, a new science fiction movie that seems to be pulling heavily from films like Chronicle or District 9.
Set in a world where 4 percent of the population are born with superpowers, but mostly forced to live in poverty, the film is a planned expansion of a ten-minute short directed by Jeff Chan, which the Amells released earlier this year. Starring Robbie Amell as a superpowered day laborer (Stephen having been busy with his day job, hitting people with various pieces of sporting equipment), it’s a well-crafted short, full of unsettling imagery for anyone who’s paid attention to the news over the last few years. (The titular Code 8, for instance, is the police code for someone with superpowers getting gunned down by the cops.) The Amells have already blown well-past their initial $200,000 funding goal, but those so inclined can still donate to their Indiegogo campaign, and pick up a signed post card or a copy of the film for themselves.