Keith Duffy has joined the cast of Lotus, the international action thriller that will pair Cuba Gooding Jr., Luke Ford, Qymira, Cristian Lavin and Alberto Cowboy under the first film in a five-picture slate between ACT3 and Blackops Studios Asia.

The project was introduced to international buyers and distribution partners at the Cannes Film Market, with principal photography scheduled to run from September through October in Manila before additional sequences are shot in Brazil. Filipino filmmaker Pedring Lopez is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Rex Lopez, and he is producing alongside Rex Lopez and Maia Yambao-Lopez, with Leslie Loh serving as executive producer for ACT3.

The cast gives the film a broad commercial shape. Gooding Jr., Ford, Duffy and Qymira are the headliners, while the production is also drawing on a crew across the Philippines, Hong Kong and Brazil. Sonny Sison will handle stunt and action coordination, and Noel Teehankee will shoot the film.

For Gooding Jr., the project is his first major shoot in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, a point he said pulled him toward the film’s energy and to Manila itself. Ford said the world of Lotus felt grounded and unpredictable, while Qymira called it bigger, darker and more ambitious, adding that the connection between Manila and Brazil made the project feel personal because of her own links to Brazil through performances and recordings there.

Lopez said the film is being built for a global audience while staying rooted in the energy and chaos of Southeast Asia and Latin America. He said the goal is to make Lotus feel dangerous, emotional and alive, which is the standard action thrillers have to clear if they want to travel well beyond their home market.

The pairing of Manila and Brazil gives the film a clear identity, but the slate behind it matters just as much. Lotus is the first of five planned productions under the ACT3–Blackops Studios Asia collaboration, and the partnership’s other cornerstone title, A Thread of Steel, is scheduled to shoot in 2028.

That makes Lotus more than a single launch title. It is the test case for whether the new alliance can move from announcement to production and then to a film that can travel internationally. With more Filipino casting still ongoing and cameras set to roll in Manila in September, the next proof will come on set, not on a market floor.