The Devil’s new motion poster teases release date announcement; Darshan film targeting year end?

A new motion poster of Challenging Star Darshan’s upcoming The Devil has dropped and the actor’s fans couldn’t be happier. The poster teases an impending release date announcement, which has led to speculation that the Prakash Veer directorial could be in theatres in 2025 after all. The team is currently in Thailand for a final 10-day schedule, which will wrap up production. The buzz is that the makers are targeting a December 2025 release for The Devil.

Now, if things had gone according to plan, The Devil would have been a December 2024 release. But then Darshan’s arrest in June last year in the Renukaswamy murder case, for which he is currently out on bail, upset this plan. After his release from jail, Darshan took a while to resume shooting, owing to health issues, but once he returned to the set, the team has been working at breakneck speed to complete the film.

Darshan seeks to replicate Kaatera's year-end luck with The Devil

Darshan’s last release Kaatera was an end of December 2023 film, and had taken the box office by storm. He was hoping for a repeat a year later with The Devil, but the target now is to get the film to theatres by the end of 2025. Interestingly, Kiccha Sudeep is also aiming for that window, as he had taken up the spot vacated by The Devil last year with his film Max, which turned out to be one of the highest grossers of the year.

Sudeep is currently shooting for an as-yet-untitled project with Max director Vijay Kartikeyaa, which he wants to release for Christmas. It’s a difficult task, he reckons, but not impossible. There’s also a question about when Dhruva Sarja’s KD The Devil will be in theatres. There were rumours of a September release, which is now said to be November. Director Prem, who is said to be collaborating with Darshan soon, will not want to clash with The Devil.

At the moment, The Devil’s the best bet for a Christmas 2025 release. The official announcement is expected shortly. The film has Rachana Rai as the leading lady, while Sharmiela Mandre, Achyuth Kumar, Vinay Gowda and Chandu Gowda also have pivotal roles. Filmmaker-actor Mahesh Manjrekar is the chief antagonist.