Meet Joe Lujan, director of The Immortal Wars collection and one of Hollywood's young award-winning filmmakers making waves in the industry.

Joe Lujan
Joe Lujan
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It's no secret that El Paso is home to many talented folks, from artists like Jesus 'Cimi' Alvarado to musicians such as Khalid and filmmakers like Joe Lujan.

Joe Lujan is a film director, artist, comic book writer, singer, music video director, and overall creative living his dream thanks to his early years and upbringing in El Paso.

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Over the summer, I had the pleasure of meeting with Lujan, who was in town filming for his latest installment of Immortal Wars: Dekay's Paradox.

Filming took place inside the basement of the El Paso Paranormal Museum, where Joe and crew quickly felt the presence of its resident ghosts, including Lily, one of the main apparitions which haunt the building. (But we'll save that story for another day)

Joe Lujan
Joe Lujan
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Joe Lujan's love of film began in 2002 after watching Resident Evil, which led him to film shorts with his siblings and cousins and screen them during family gatherings which helped hone his skills and give birth to Carcass Studios.

After graduating from Montwood High School, Lujan moved to Las Vegas and eventually Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker.

During the early years of his career, Lujan dabbled more in horror than sci-fi, writing and directing the films such as:

  • Atelophobia - based on artistic revenge on those who bullied him during his early years in school
  • Rust - A Texas Chain Saw Massacre-style flick
  • Billy - A short horror film that scored Luja a win for Best Director at Shockfest Film Festival 2020

 

 

 

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  A post shared by JOE LUJAN (@joelujanofficial)

Fast forward a few years, and dozens of short films later, the former El Pasoan went on to direct his most famous sci-fi franchise, The Immortal Wars starring Eric Roberts and the late Tom Sizemore, based on his earlier webcomic (The Vanquishers) that features a whole universe of over 140 characters.

The popularity behind the original Immortal Wars film soon evolved, giving way to a franchise that includes: The Immortal Wars: Resurgence (2019), The Immortal Wars: Rebirth (2020), The Immortal Wars: Dekay's Paradox (Post-production), The Immortal Wars: Redemption (2023), the Immortal Legends TV Series and the upcoming Trikalypse series based on his webcomic main character.

The Immortal Wars has even gone international with plans to distribute a Spanish and an anime version along with a web series, Terminus coming out soon.

With all the Immortal Wars film buzz, Lujan was tapped to direct the upcoming horror film Scorched Earth which will star Richard Dreyfuss and Louis Gossett Jr.

Joe Lujan
Joe Lujan
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So what's next for the young director?

Joe Lujan recently signed a deal with the V Channel platform to direct five films through 2023. He also wrapped up Bridget's Haunted Tours: Winchester Mystery House Special, a collab with Jungo Plus and Bridget Marquardt.

Apart from all this, Joe Lujan is looking to produce an El Paso haunted film anthology based on ghost stories such as Ghost Girl at El Paso High, Gravity Hill, Concordia Cemetery, and more haunted spots around the Sun City.

What's even better is that Lujan plans to use local talent and filmmakers to highlight these ghost stories around El Paso but also to give back to the community, saying that he'd "like to uplift local talent and filmmakers and remind all creatives never to give up, because you never know when your next idea will make all your dreams come true."

 

 

 

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A post shared by JOE LUJAN (@joelujanofficial)

With that sage advice, follow Joe Lujan on social media because you never know what new project will catapult his career further into the Hollywood stratosphere, giving us good reason to be proud of this talented creative who happens to be another of El Paso's own.

Another El Paso Hidden Gem: Artist & Sculpture Ho Baron

Discover the otherwordly art of Ho Baron, a local artist whose life-size sculptures can run anywhere from $25 to $25K, and can be seen around town, including locations in Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Round Rock, and Georgetown in Austin, Roswell, Silver City, and Baltimore.

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