Temple Hill Entertainment, producers of the Twilight series, are partnering with Protagonist Pictures on the new feature The Rule of Three, an adaptation from thriller writer Sam Ripley’s 2022 novel of the same title, and it is reported to be the first installment in an original horror trilogy.
With the Cannes Film Festival approaching, Protagonist is set to start launching sales at the market with an adapted screenplay from Todd Harthan and Psych star James Roday Rodriguez, who is also set to direct the feature. Last Night in Soho’s Thomasin McKenzie and Ginny and Georgia’s Katie Douglas are confirmed to lead the production. Rodriguez spoke on his experience working on the project, calling it his “director’s dream,” explaining further, “supportive and mustached producers, an incredible cast, and material that defies the ways we try to define ‘genre’ filmmaking. Come for the terror, stay for the storytelling.”
According to Deadline, the plot explores the curse of Amy, who is played by Douglas, and her family as 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 realizes the curse must strike her next.” So with the assistance of her best friend, played by McKenzie, the two women “try to cheat Amy’s death and find a way to reverse the curse.”
As for producers, Marty Bowen, Isaac Klausner, and Wyck Godfrey will produce for Temple Hill along with Hal Sadoff and George Berman, named as executive producers. For Protagonist, Dave Bishop, George Hamilton, and James Pugh are executive producing in partnership with Rodriguez and Harthan’s new shingle, Taft Tennis. Bowen praised the project, saying, “We were immediately hooked by James’ vision for a fresh and terrifying curse movie revolving around the notorious lore behind the number 3. Centered on a ride-or-die friendship between two young women, set against the nostalgic backdrop of the 90s and underpinned by James’ trademark wit, we know that audiences will find The Rule of Three scary and hilarious in equal measure. And with this being the first in the franchise, there are many jaw-dropping twists and turns to come.”
McKenzie’s upcoming features include Anna Lee, directed by The Brutalist’s writer Mona Fastvold, and Jimmy Carr’s period comedy Fackham Hall. Douglas is to grace this month as she leads the horror film Clown in a Cornfield, which will release in theaters on May 9th.
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