Crime Thriller 'Stray Dogs' Sets Las Vegas Shoot for November 2026 as Casting Opens

Las Vegas is about to become a production backdrop for a gritty crime thriller with real teeth. "Stray Dogs," a feature film currently in casting and pre-production, is set to film in Las Vegas, Nevada from November 16 through December 18, 2026. With a tight five-week shooting window and a darkly compelling premise centered on kidnapping, betrayal, and a ransom that turns out to be murder, this is a production worth putting on your radar now, well before cameras roll.

The project is written, directed, and produced by MJ Alhabeeb Jr., who is also handling casting duties, a combination that signals a deeply personal creative investment in the material. Multi-hyphenate filmmakers who write, direct, and produce their own work tend to run lean, fast-moving sets with a strong singular vision, and "Stray Dogs" appears to be built in exactly that mold. The logline follows a fugitive attempting to leave his criminal past behind who is dragged back into danger when his brother is kidnapped, only to discover that the ransom demanded is not money but murder. An enigmatic woman with her own shadowed history joins the fight, adding layers of moral ambiguity that suggest the film is aiming for more than straightforward genre territory. Alhabeeb Jr. is joined in the producer ranks by Steve Straka and Colin Bates, rounding out a producing team that keeps the core creative circle tight.

Two below-the-line hires already confirmed speak directly to the kind of film this is shaping up to be. Rich Hopkins is attached as stunt coordinator, signaling that the action elements of this crime thriller are being taken seriously from a production standpoint. Stunt-heavy features shooting on a compressed schedule in an urban environment like Las Vegas require careful early coordination between the stunt department and the director, so Hopkins' involvement this far in advance is a good sign for the production's organizational approach. Amanda Edwards is on board as intimacy coordinator, suggesting the film includes scenes requiring that level of professional oversight, another indicator of a production that is thinking thoughtfully about its on-set protocols regardless of its independent scale.

Las Vegas as a filming location brings with it a very specific set of advantages and considerations for working crew. Nevada has historically offered competitive film tax incentives through its film office, and Las Vegas in particular provides an unmatched urban landscape, neon-soaked exteriors, industrial corridors, and the kind of lived-in grit just off the Strip that crime thrillers depend on. The city's crew base has grown substantially in recent years as more productions recognize Nevada as a legitimate alternative to Los Angeles or Atlanta. That said, a production of this scale will likely draw on both local Las Vegas talent and crew from the broader southwestern region, including the deep Los Angeles crew pool, which is roughly four hours by road. Department heads considering this project should factor in the likelihood of a local hire versus travel and accommodation situation based on their location and specialty.

A November 16 start puts pre-production squarely in the late summer and fall window, meaning department heads across art, camera, wardrobe, locations, and production are likely to be approached in the coming months as the project firms up its full crew roster. The five-week shoot running through mid-December is a compact schedule by feature film standards, which typically means a focused location list and a production that prizes efficiency. Crew comfortable working quickly and collaboratively in a close-knit environment will find this kind of schedule a natural fit. Given the genre, expect the locations department to be doing significant work identifying the Las Vegas spots that double as anonymous, dangerous, and cinematic, the kind of scouting work that defines how a crime thriller actually looks on screen. The confirmed presence of both a stunt coordinator and intimacy coordinator from this early stage suggests the production is approaching its union and safety obligations carefully, a reassuring signal for crew assessing whether to pursue it.

For the full production listing on "Stray Dogs," including production office contact information, the complete crew list as it develops, and scheduling updates as the November start approaches, head to ProductionList.com and bookmark this one. Casting and pre-production are active now, and for crew looking to lock in a late-2026 feature credit in one of the Southwest's most visually distinctive cities, getting in front of this production early is the right move.

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