Citizen Vigilante

In an unnamed European city, a young mother is fatally stabbed in front of her son by a passing migrant. A news report states that parents are afraid to let their children play outside and that women avoid going out after dark.

Michael Sanders is a former U.S. Army officer who moved to Europe after inheriting his estranged father's real estate business. He secretly operates as the Vigilante Citizen, a ruthless vigilante who targets those who have escaped justice. While much of the public praises his actions, the police, led by Interpol's Chief Henry, are determined to arrest him.

After killing a group of racketeers, Sanders confronts several fare-dodging thugs on a bus. He pays their fares so the journey can continue, but lectures them about the impact of their behavior on society. Later, at a hospital, Sanders visits Elsa, a rape victim who was severely beaten during her attack. He offers her a choice: pursue justice through the courts, with no guarantee of success, or endorse his intervention. She chooses to support him. Henry later asks Elsa for a description of her visitor, but she deliberately provides one that does not match Sanders. During a meeting with his business manager, Sanders orders the eviction of non-paying tenants and vows to oppose government efforts to seize vacant properties for migrant housing.

Suspicious of Sanders, Henry surveils a nightclub Sanders frequents. There, he watches Sanders switch the drinks of two men with the drugged beverages they had intended for their dates. Henry collects a drinking glass that Sanders used to obtain his DNA. After linking Sanders to the vigilante, Henry leads a Special Intervention Unit team to apprehend him. Sanders barricades himself inside an armored container and warns the officers to leave. The officers open fire, prompting Sanders to kill them before making his escape. An explosive booby-trap injures Henry. A subsequent news report suggests that rising crime and associated costs may necessitate a reassessment of migration policies.

Sanders later meets a teenage rape victim whose six migrant attackers were released without punishment because Judge Reinhold, the presiding judge in the case, considered them to be victims too (citing their difficulties integrating into society). The teenage victim tells Sanders that she has been denied justice. Sanders kills Reinhold and stages it as a suicide. The police later link the incident to multiple unexplained deaths involving judges.

While walking through a park, Sanders encounters the same thugs from the bus harassing a man. He crushes the hands of the two male assailants before warning them never to repeat their behavior. Sanders visits the home of Yusuf, one of the rapists, and takes him and his family hostage. As Yusuf's relatives excuse his actions and blame the victim, Sanders orders Yusuf to summon his accomplices to the apartment. Once they arrive, Sanders executes Yusuf, his family, and the other attackers.

Sanders calls the hospitalized Henry and tells him to inform the government that the public will not tolerate a takeover by the woke left and Islamist extremists that will destroy democracy. He warns that the government must stop it or the people will do so themselves. Henry arranges to address the press if the prime minister will not listen to him.

At home, the teenage victim learns that her attackers are dead and smiles in satisfaction. A scrambled video message from Sanders is broadcast, declaring that his work will continue until the citizens learn to defend themselves.

Armie Hammer (pictured in 2017) and Costas Mandylor (2024)

• Armie Hammer as Michael Sanders^[8][9]
• Costas Mandylor as Interpol Regional Chief Henry^[9]
• Désirée Giorgetti as Elsa
• Steffen Mennekes as Manager Owen
• Neb Chupin as SWAT Leader Pierre
• Mukit Abdul Hamid as Yusuf
• Fares Mongy as Ibrahim
• Hila Harush as Dehlia
• Helen Al Janabi as Sarna
• Dora Dimic Rakar as Raped Girl
• Tvrtko Juric as Raped Girl's Father
• Roni Lepej as Judge Reinhold
• Vjekoslav Katusin as Mafia Boss

In January 2025, it was announced that a thriller film produced, written, and directed by Uwe Boll titled The Dark Knight was in pre-production, with Armie Hammer cast in the lead role. Principal photography began on January 27, 2025, in Zagreb, Croatia, with Mathias Neumann serving as the cinematographer.^[8][10] In February, Costas Mandylor joined the cast.^[9] Filming wrapped on April 3, 2025.^[11][12] Warner Bros. sent Boll a cease-and-desist letter regarding the use of the title The Dark Knight.^[13] In April 2025, the title was changed to Citizen Vigilante.^[11]

Boll has described the film as being in the tradition of "revenge" films like Death Wish and Dirty Harry.^[14] He said the film is "dedicated to all the women in Europe who got left alone by the law".^[15]

Variety reported that the film "was inspired by a notorious case in Hamburg in 2016, when a group of teenagers gang-raped a 14-year-old girl and left her for dead, only for the perpetrators to walk free with suspended sentences"^[5] and mentioned a scene "where the parents of a rapist insist they are teaching their son the values of the Quran."^[1] Boll said he had to ask "hundreds" of actors before he finally found ones who were willing to portray the Muslim family in the final part of the movie.^[16]

In February 2026, Quiver Distribution acquired North American distribution rights to the film, releasing it in the United States on 19 June 2026.^[17][18]

The film was denied an age certification in Germany for promoting vigilantism, banning it from wide distribution and advertisement,^[19][20] though it was not put on the "Index" and can therefore be legally bought by adults in specialized stores. In response, Boll publicly argued that the board used "youth protection" as a pretext to suppress the film due to its focus on migration-linked crime in Europe.^[21][6] In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Boll stated: "I hired a lawyer to complain about it, but we lost in a six-two vote as I was told that the film was inciting violence against migrants."^[5]

On June 25, with Boll's endorsement,^[7] the film was made freely accessible on X for 48 hours on Elon Musk's account.^[22] Musk further publicized this release with several posts praising the film; he suggested that efforts to ban the film had instead boosted its reach, specifically mentioning the "Streisand effect".^[7] The European Conservative assessed that Musk had turned "a German regulatory decision into a transatlantic phenomenon" and "presented as a new case of European censorship".^[6]

Days later, Quiver Distribution, which already held rights to the film in North America, bought worldwide distribution rights, excluding the United Kingdom, German-speaking territories, South Korea, and Taiwan.^[23]

Boll said he hopes the film generates enough money to allow him to produce Citizen Vigilante 2, eyeing a release in 2027. He said he has developed some concepts for the project, but added that a screenplay does not yet exist. When asked about Hammer's possible return, he expressed confidence that the actor would be interested in reprising the role. Variety contacted Hammer's representative for comment, but received no response.^[4]

• Post-assault treatment of sexual assault victims
• List of vigilante films