AMC’s The Walking Dead would never have reached its massive popularity without its outstanding cast, who brilliantly brought the post-apocalyptic drama to life. Based on the comic book series of the same name, the hit series ran for 11 seasons from October 31, 2010, to November 20, 2022, with Andrew Lincoln leading the show as the heroic Rick Grimes for its first nine seasons. While Rick remains one of the franchise’s most iconic characters, several others have become just as beloved by fans over the years. One standout is Aaron, the compassionate Alexandria recruiter portrayed by Ross Marquand, who first appears in Season 5.
Although Marquand is best known for his role on The Walking Dead, he has worked on many other projects, not just as an actor but also as an impressionist. Most recently, he starred in the 2025 critically acclaimed sci-fi thriller written and directed by Peter Cilella, in which his character struggles with personal trauma. Titled Descendent, the film has found a new streaming home less than a year after its release, making it more accessible to sci-fi fans who are sure to be hooked from start to finish.
Descendent premiered at South by Southwest on March 10, 2025, and was later released on digital platforms on August 15, 2025. The alien abduction movie arrived on Hulu today, May 26, 2026, joining a ton of similarly compelling titles that have made their way to the streamer this month. Also starring in Descendent are Sarah Bolger, Susan Wilder, Charlene Amoia, Dan O’Brien, Brandon Scott, Alexandra Barreto, and Parvesh Cheena.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
What Happens in the 88% RT Hit ‘Descendent’?
Based on 25 reviews, Descendent boasts an 88% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, a huge difference from its 44% audience score. In the film, Marquand portrays Sean Bruner, a school security guard in Los Angeles who deals with a lot of stress and personal trauma as he and his wife, Andrea (Bolger), prepare for the birth of their first child. However, when he climbs onto the roof one night to fix a light bulb, he sees something in the night sky and falls off the roof. As he recovers, Sean finds himself grappling with visions of a spacecraft and an unexplained artistic ability, prompting the question of what really happened to him. And with a baby on the way, he races to face his demons before his growing obsession consumes him.
Descendent now streams on Hulu.
Release Date
March 8, 2025
Runtime
93 minutes
Director
Peter Cilella
Writers
Peter Cilella
Producers
Aaron Moorhead, Arianne Fraser, Henry Winterstern, Justin Benson, Mark Ward, Delphine Perrier
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