Johannes Roberts Directs Thriller '13 O'Clock' for Regency Enterprises, Filming in Colombia in Early 2027

Regency Enterprises is gearing up for an ambitious international thriller with "13 O'Clock" (working title "Tomas"), a feature film currently in casting and pre-production that is set to begin principal photography in Colombia on February 1, 2027, running through early April of that year. With more than a year and a half of runway before cameras roll, this is precisely the kind of early-stage opportunity that department heads and key crew want to know about now, well before the hiring pipeline fills up. The project combines a morally complex dramatic premise with action and supernatural thriller elements, signaling a production that will likely demand strong creative contributions from multiple departments.

Directing and co-writing the film is Johannes Roberts, who has firmly established himself as one of the genre world's most reliable architects of sustained dread. Roberts is best known for the "47 Meters Down" franchise, which became a legitimate theatrical hit for Entertainment Studios, as well as the Netflix hit "Resident Evil" series reboot and the well-regarded shark thriller "The Strangers: Prey at Night." His films are consistently tense, visually disciplined, and audience-friendly within the genre space, and his background suggests a production that runs efficiently and with a clear visual language in place from day one. He is co-writing the screenplay with Ernest Riera, a collaborator he has worked with before on multiple projects including "47 Meters Down: Uncaged" and the Netflix "Resident Evil" series, which means the creative foundation here is a known and tested partnership. That kind of continuity between director and writer tends to make for a smoother pre-production process, with fewer third-act script surprises derailing department planning. Casting Director Skyler Zurn is attached, and agents and managers representing Spanish-speaking talent or bilingual actors should be paying close attention, given the film's premise centers on Mexican characters and a story set in Latin America.

Executive Producer James Harris is a significant name to note here. Harris has a long track record producing genre films and thrillers, with credits including "Hanna," "The Woman in Black," and "Book of Blood," and he has developed a reputation for shepherding challenging, dark material with strong commercial instincts. The production is backed by Regency Enterprises, one of Hollywood's most storied and well-capitalized independent production and financing entities, known for a wide range of prestige and genre films including "Gone Girl," "The Revenant," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," and "Black Swan." Regency's involvement signals a properly budgeted feature, not a micro-budget indie, and the company's long-standing distribution relationships with major studios give this project real commercial legs. A theatrical distribution partner has not been publicly announced at this stage, but a Regency-backed Roberts genre film is the kind of package that attracts serious distribution attention.

Colombia is confirmed as the filming location, with principal photography scheduled for the full stretch of February through early April 2027. That two-month window in Colombia is a meaningful detail for crew. Colombia has grown into a genuinely capable production hub over the past decade, with Bogota and Cartagena both offering established infrastructure, experienced local crews, and a government that has actively courted foreign productions through competitive incentive programs. Colombia's Film Commission offers a cash rebate of up to 40 percent on qualifying local expenditures, which is almost certainly a primary driver of the location choice alongside the story's Latin American setting. Productions shooting in Colombia typically find strong local talent in camera, grip, electric, and locations departments, though many productions at this budget level bring in key department heads from the U.S. or Europe. The country's diverse geography, from dense urban environments to lush tropical landscapes, makes it an exceptionally flexible shooting location for a thriller with the kind of visceral, atmospheric premise "13 O'Clock" is working with. Department heads based in the U.S. who have prior international shoot experience, particularly in Latin America, will be especially competitive for positions on this one.

The film's logline positions it as a genre hybrid with serious dramatic weight, following a guilt-ridden former DEA agent in Mexico who becomes entangled with a young woman and her brother in a flight from the police, only to lead them on a journey described as going "beyond death." That supernatural or metaphysical element layered onto what is otherwise a grounded action-thriller premise suggests the production will have meaningful VFX requirements, alongside the practical action and location demands you would expect from a Roberts film. His work consistently prioritizes practical tension over digital spectacle, but the "journey beyond death" element in the script points to at least some visual effects pipeline work. A large locations department will be essential given the international shoot and the story's apparent scope. Costume and production design will also be under real pressure to ground the story authentically within a Mexican and Colombian context while serving the thriller's escalating stakes.

With production more than a year away, the hiring window for department heads is opening now rather than later. Productions of this scale and international complexity begin locking in key creatives well in advance, and Regency's resources mean the team has the capacity to move deliberately and hire well. Crew members and department heads interested in pursuing "13 O'Clock" should check the full production listing on ProductionList.com for contact information, office details, and any updates to the crew roster as they are confirmed. Bookmark the listing and check back regularly as casting and pre-production advance. This is exactly the kind of internationally filmed genre feature that fills up its key roles quietly and quickly once the process gets moving.

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