The Geeky Genius Who Resurrected Deathstalker: Steven Kostanski Brings Stop‑Motion, Slash & Patton Oswalt to 2025
Steven Kostanski directed the new 2025 take on Deathstalker, a reboot of Roger Corman’s 1983 cult fantasy. The film stars Daniel Bernhardt as Deathstalker, features Patton Oswalt as the voice of the wizard sidekick Doodad, and opens in theaters on Oct. 10, 2025. Kostanski used practical creature effects, stop-motion, and 2D overlays to capture the B-movie spirit while working with a modest budget.
Overview
Deathstalker (2025) is a reboot-ish update of the 1983 Roger Corman-produced film. The story follows Deathstalker as he finds a cursed amulet tied to the sorcerer Nekromemnon and must collect three legendary items — a chalice, an amulet, and a sword — to stop a new age of evil. The tone leans into pulpy fantasy, and the movie intentionally mixes seriousness with deliberate silliness to match the original B-movie energy.
Director and cast
Steven Kostanski directed the film. He is known for practical-effects work and for directing PG: Psycho Goreman. Kostanski has credits designing effects and rigs on projects such as Hannibal, Crimson Peak, Suicide Squad, and Star Trek: Discovery. He told interviewers that he wanted to make a fun movie: “I wanted to make a fun movie,” and, “That term has a bit of a stigma around it, and… I don’t like that. So many of the movies that I love I feel like are just built on fun.”
Daniel Bernhardt, a former stuntman turned actor, plays Deathstalker. Patton Oswalt provides the voice of Doodad, the wizard sidekick. Nicholas Rice co-stars as Nekromemnon. Kostanski said of the villain casting, “I’ve always dreamed of having a villain like that, a classically trained fake Shakespeare actor spouting insane nonsense about the outer darkness and whatnot,” Kostanski said.
Visual effects and style
Kostanski leaned into practical effects. He used creature suits, stop-motion animation, and 2D overlays to emulate the look and feel of 1980s genre films. He described the movie’s structure as similar to a side-scrolling boss rush, noting influences such as Ninja Scroll and Army of Darkness. “Stop-motion is where I started when I was 12,” he said.
The production included handcrafted effects and one standout prop: a four-bladed sword inspired by the triple-bladed weapon from Albert Pyun’s The Sword and the Sorcerer. Kostanski admitted the design was fragile: “A gentle breeze would shatter it,” he said. “But damn, it looked cool”.
Production and budget
The film had a limited budget. Kostanski said, “I didn’t have the budget to have thousands of armies of thousands of guys fighting thousands of monsters, but I could have one guy fighting basically a rogues gallery of weirdos.” As a result, the team focused on varied encounters and practical detail rather than large-scale digital battles.
He also explained the financial reality for genre films today: “It’s either you have next to no money to work with or you have too much money and no in-between,” and he added, “Our budget was still on the very low end, but we just compensated by calling in a lot of favors and me building a huge chunk of the effects myself,” finishing with, “I wanted to do it. I wanted to make this movie. I wanted to prove that you could make a fantasy movie on a lower budget if you’re resourceful.”
Release details
Deathstalker opens in theaters on Oct. 10, 2025. Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash served as an executive producer, which helped secure financing and contributed to the film’s musical ambitions. Overall, the production aimed to recreate the feel of Corman-era fantasy while using modern independent filmmaking methods and practical effects.
