James Franco, Rob Lowe, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nick Nolte headline Confession, a historical psychological thriller that The Daily Wire kept under wraps until its recent reveal. Written by Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro and directed by Czech filmmaker Václav Marhoul, the film is set in the Soviet Union in 1938 and centres on a former professor facing interrogation inside Stalin’s notorious Lubyanka Prison. The film is scheduled to premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival on October 15, 2026, before receiving a one-night theatrical release in 100 US theatres on November 11. It will also become available on The Daily Wire’s streaming service that day.
The announcement has drawn attention to both the film’s ensemble cast and its screenwriter. Shapiro, best known as a conservative political commentator, has written a historical drama set inside one of the Soviet Union’s most feared prisons. The project remained largely out of public view until the release of its teaser, which introduced the premise and revealed the principal cast. The combination of a high-profile ensemble, a politically charged historical setting and a writer better known for political commentary makes Confession an unexpected addition to the historical thriller genre.
Set in Moscow in 1938 under Joseph Stalin’s rule, Confession unfolds largely inside Lubyanka Prison. Rob Lowe plays Alexei, a former literature professor detained over alleged ties to a dissident priest. James Franco portrays Vladimir, the officer interrogating him. Vladimir is also Alexei’s former student, but he has since become a ruthless military officer, placing the two men on opposite sides of a system built around suspicion and state control.
Their shared history gives the film its central conflict. The confrontation is not simply a struggle between a prisoner and the state; it is also a deeply personal encounter between a teacher and his former student, whose positions have been dramatically reversed. According to the official synopsis, Alexei’s ordeal becomes a test of conscience, betrayal and faith, with the decisions he makes carrying consequences for other prisoners. The story therefore places the personal relationship between the two men at the centre of a wider atmosphere of political repression.
The teaser offers an early glimpse of that dynamic, showing Franco’s Vladimir addressing Lowe’s exhausted and dishevelled Alexei with a knowing smirk. The largely confined setting presents a particular challenge for the filmmakers, as much of the tension must emerge through the actors’ performances, the dialogue and the psychological pressure of interrogation rather than large-scale action. The effectiveness of that approach will become clearer when audiences see the completed film.
The ensemble also includes Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Brad Dourif, Emile Hirsch, Dean Norris and Richard Brake. The cast brings together performers with extensive film and television experience, including actors with Oscar and Emmy nominations. Its scale makes Confession one of the more high-profile casts assembled for a Daily Wire feature to date, placing several established performers within a story largely driven by its central confrontation.
The casting also represents an unexpected combination for a company known for its political identity as well as its film projects. The teaser presents a historical narrative built around moral pressure, religious belief and the personal cost of resisting state power. However, the extent to which the finished film explores these themes, and how it approaches the historical setting, will become clearer after its premiere. The available material establishes the broad conflict without revealing how the story ultimately develops.
Director Václav Marhoul previously attracted attention with The Painted Bird (2019), a bleak depiction of wartime cruelty and the Holocaust. The film’s difficult subject matter makes Marhoul an intriguing choice for another project shaped by political violence and human suffering. His involvement brings an established connection to demanding historical material, although Confession presents a different setting and a story centred on interrogation, faith and the relationship between a prisoner and his former student.
The production crew also includes cinematographer Peter Menzies Jr., whose credits include Die Hard with a Vengeance and A Time to Kill, and Oscar-winning makeup and prosthetics artist Jeff Dawn, known for Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Their experience adds established film-production expertise to a period drama whose setting places particular demands on its visual presentation and physical detail.
The release strategy for Confession is also notable. Following its scheduled premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival on October 15, 2026, the film is set to screen in 100 US theatres for a single night on November 11. It will arrive on The Daily Wire’s streaming service on the same day, giving the film a limited theatrical outing alongside its digital release on the company’s own platform.
The teaser introduces an ensemble-led historical thriller whose central conflict rests on a former professor’s confrontation with the student who has become his interrogator. Questions remain about how the cast will work together and how Marhoul’s approach will shape Shapiro’s screenplay. The film’s Warsaw premiere will provide the first opportunity for audiences to assess how its performances, tightly contained setting and themes of conscience, betrayal and faith come together on screen.