Sydney Sweeney auditioned for this film in 2014 when she was 17. But the project never materialized. Years later, she took on the role of a producer and reached out to the writer, acquired and revised the script, hired a director, found financiers, and sold the film to Neon.
In an interview with IMDb, Sydney revealed her grandmas appear in both church scenes. She explained, "In both of the church scenes where I am walking with the candle down the aisle, they're in the first two rows. And then in the scene where I am being crowned and everybody [in] the congregation's singing, they're standing in the front row next to Mother Superior."
Michael Mohan previously directed Sydney Sweeney in The Voyeurs (2021) and the TV show Everything Sucks! (2018).
Two saints are mentioned in the film. The convent is said to be built over the catacombs holding St. Stephen, and St. Helena is named as the person who brought the stake from the cross back from the holy lands.
St. Stephen is considered the very first Christian martyr; a deacon appointed by Paul of the original 12 apostles, Stephen was stoned to death shortly after the resurrection of Christ for blasphemy after giving a speech condemning Jewish authorities. Relics of St. Stephen were brought and interred in Italy.
St. Helena was the mother of Emperor Constantine I. She went on a pilgrimage tour of the holy lands to build churches and collect holy relics around 326-7AD. According to Christian tradition, she discovered the 'true cross' Jesus was crucified upon while on this pilgrimage, along with the nails of crucifixion and many other relics.
Sydney Sweeney and Simona Tabasco both appeared on The White Lotus (2021), but were on different seasons.