![Demian Bichir](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Demian-Bichir-H-2021.jpg?w=1296&h=730&crop=1)
Oscar nominee Demián Bichir (A Better Life, The Bridge) has joined Chupa, Jonás Cuarón’s upcoming mythical creature film for Netflix.
The ensemble cast also added newcomers Dominic Mariche, Adriel Manzano and Isabella Patron for lead roles. Chupa will portray a teenage boy (Mariche) who, while visiting his family in Mexico, discovers and befriends a young chupacabra hiding in his grandfather’s shed.
To save the mythical creature, the young boy and his cousins (Adriel Manzano and Isabella Patron) must embark on the adventure of a lifetime.
“Demián, Dominic, Adriel and Isabella all bring a genuineness to the characters they play. Growing up in both Mexico and the US, I’m fortunate to have my own life experiences to inspire the stories that I tell. It’s even more special to have found a cast that is able to lend an additional layer of authenticity to Chupa,” Cuarón said in a statement.
Bichir earned an Oscar nomination for his turn in A Better Life. His credits include Showtime’s Weeds, FX’s The Bridge, ABC’s Grand Hotel and features The Midnight Sky, Godzilla vs. Kong, Che, The Hateful Eight and The Heat, among others.
Cuarón is directing Chupa based on a script that he and Tim Sexton wrote from an original script by Marcus Rinehart, Sean Kennedy Moore and Joe Barnathan. Cuarón got a break when he co-wrote Gravity with his father, Alfonso Cuaron, before directing the immigration drama Desierto.
Chupa is produced by 26th Street Pictures’ Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe. The project springs from a first look movie deal signed by 26th Street Pictures with Netflix in 2018.
G. Mac Brown and Brendan Bellomo will executive produce Chupa.
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