EXCLUSIVE: Filming is underway on the first installment of intended horror trilogy Rule of Three from Smile, Twilight and Maze Runner outfit Temple Hill and Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End firm Nostromo.
Joining previously announced Thomasin McKenzie (JoJo Rabbit) is new cast including Chloe East (Heretic), Jimmi Simpson (Westworld), Sutton Foster (Younger), Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do!) and Bilal Hasna (Layla).
Based on the novel of the same name by Sam Ripley, and with James Roday Rodriguez (Gravy) directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Todd Harthan (High Potential), the story follows a girl trying to escape a deadly curse on her family.
The synopsis reads: “Are Amy (East) and her family plagued by a deadly curse? Every three years, death strikes under mysterious circumstances, horrifically killing family members. It’s almost three years to the day since Amy’s parents’ death, and Amy realises the curse must strike her next. With the help of her best friend Lizzy (McKenzie), the two friends try to cheat Amy’s death and find a way to reverse the curse.”
As we revealed last year, Protagonist Pictures is handling sales. The company has inked a string of pre-sales and will continue dealmaking at next week’s EFM in Berlin. Deals we can reveal today include Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France (Wildbunch), Portugal (Cinemundo), Latin America (Sun), Australia and New Zealand (Umbrella), Eastern Europe (M2), Baltics (ACME), Ukraine (Greenlight), India (Pictureworks), Philippines (Pioneer), Middle East (Front Row) and Israel (Lev).
Temple Hill and Protagonist previously teamed on low-budget horror Clown in a Cornfield, which took a record $7.2M at the U.S. box office for IFC and $3M at the French box office for SND on its way to $14M global. They also teamed up on the horror Monitor, which is set to premiere at SXSW 2026.
Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey and Isaac Klausner produce Rule of Three for Temple Hill, with Hal Sadoff and Ben Levine executive-producing. Adrián Guerra and Núria Valls are producing for Nostromo Pictures. Dave Bishop, James Pugh and George Hamilton serve as executive producers for Protagonist, in collaboration with Rodriguez and Harthan’s Taft Tennis.
“As we kick off production on our fourth feature together, we’re incredibly fortunate to be joining forces once again with Temple Hill on this daring and bold psychological horror,” said Protagonist’s CCO George Hamilton. “We’re thrilled to have world-class international partners on board to champion the film and introduce the first chapter of what will be a fun, smart but unsettling story for audiences worldwide.”
“We could not be more excited to invite audiences everywhere to experience James’ incredible filmmaking vision. Rule of Three is a terrifying and heart-wrenching exploration of the baggage we carry from our pasts and the power of friendship to help us try and overcome it. Led by two incredible actresses and a terrific ensemble cast, Rule of Three is a horrifying cinematic thrill ride bound to pack an emotional punch,” the producers shared in a joint statement.
East is repped by WME, Link Entertainment, Vault Entertainment and Felker Toczek; Simpson is repped by CAA, Cognition, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Foster is repped by CAA; Everett Scott is repped by Gersh and John Carrabino Management; Hasna is repped by Insight Management & Production and Circle Management+Production. Roday Rodriguez is repped by CAA and Principal Entertainment; Harthan is repped by UTA, Circle Management + Production and Yorn, Levine.
