Filming is underway on the first installment of the new horror trilogy Rule of Three from Temple Hill Entertainment, the powerhouse behind worldwide sensations Smile and Smile 2, as well as the blockbuster franchises The Twilight Saga and The Maze Runner trilogy, and Nostromo Pictures, the European production house behind Red Lights and Prime Video’s global #1 hit Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End. Rule of Three is based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by bestselling thriller author Sam Ripley, with James Roday Rodriguez (Gravy) directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Todd Harthan (“High Potential”).
Joining previously announced Thomasin McKenzie (JoJo Rabbit, Last Night in SoHo) is a newly revealed cast that includes Chloe East (Heretic, The Fabelmans), Jimmi Simpson (“House of Cards,” “Westworld”), Sutton Foster (“Younger”), Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do!, “The Summer I Turned Pretty”) and Bilal Hasna (Layla, “Extraordinary”).
Leading sales, finance and production company Protagonist Pictures also announced a string of international deals ahead of EFM including 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).
Rule of Three synopsis reads: Beware, Beware, the Rule of Three, It’s coming for you, like it came for me… 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. But is Amy’s fate already sealed? Bad things always happen in threes, so they say…
Temple Hill and Protagonist Pictures’ partnership began with Clown in a Cornfield, the award-winning book-to-film adaptation which grossed $15M worldwide, including $7.2M at the U.S. box office for IFC and $3M at the French box office for SND. They also teamed up on the horror Monitor, set to premiere at SXSW 2026. Rule of Three marks their fourth collaboration.
Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey and Isaac Klausner produce 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.
Founded by Godfrey and Bowen in 2006, Temple Hill Entertainment is the successful banner behind a number of blockbuster film franchises, including the 2022 sleeper hit, Smile, followed by the box office chart-topper, Smile 2, both released by Paramount Pictures. Their book-to-film adaptations, The Twilight Saga and The Maze Runner trilogy, have grossed over $5.3B and $949M worldwide respectively. Additional films include John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort; Greg Berlanti’s Love, Simon, starring Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel; the critically acclaimed and NAACP Image Award-winner, The Hate U Give; and Fatherhood, starring Kevin Hart and Alfre Woodward.
Guerra and Valls launched Nostromo Pictures in 2010 and have since produced more than 40 feature films. The company first broke out with the multi-award-winning Sundance hit Buried, which grossed over $20 million worldwide, followed by the high-profile thriller Red Lights, starring Cillian Murphy, Elizabeth Olsen, Sigourney Weaver and Robert De Niro. Their credits also include Prime Video’s global #1 chart-topper Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End, and the critical and commercial success The Invisible Guest (Contratiempo), one of the top-grossing Spanish thrillers of all time.
East most recently starred in Heretic opposite Hugh Grant and Sophie Thatcher. Credits also include Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated The Fabelmans, the Lena Dunham-produced series “Genera+ion,” and the feature The Wolf of Snow Hollow.
Simpson received an Emmy nomination for his role in the sci-fi epic series “Westworld.” He has also earned recognition for his roles in “House of Cards,” “Pachinko,” and the long-running hit comedy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” He currently stars in Dark Matter and recently reprised his role in the USS Callister sequel episode of “Black Mirror,” for which he earned a BAFTA TV nomination.
Foster is a two-time Tony Award winner and seven-time nominee who has most recently led the Broadway revivals of Once Upon a Mattress and The Music Man. She’ll next star as country music legend Loretta Lynn in the upcoming Coal Miner’s Daughter Broadway adaptation. On TV Foster led TV Land’s “Younger” for seven seasons and has appeared in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Bunheads.”
Everett Scott broke out in his feature debut as Guy Patterson in Tom Hanks’ That Thing You Do! and will next be seen starring in “Elle,” the highly anticipated prequel series to the Legally Blonde films. He most recently appeared in the hit Amazon series “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” His film credits include An American Werewolf in Paris, Clouds, Sister of the Groom, Finding You, and One True Loves.
Hasna is a BAFTA TV nominee who starred in the acclaimed film Layla. He currently stars in the political-thriller series “The Agency: Central Intelligence,” and his other recent TV credits include “Black Mirror,” “Slow Horses,” “Extraordinary,” and “Dead Hot.” Hasna was named a 2023 ‘Screen International Star of Tomorrow.’
East is repped by WME, Link Entertainment, Vault Entertainment and Felker Toczek Suddleson McGinnis Ryan; 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, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich & Gellman.
