Sydney Sweeney is booked and busy, and it looks like she's about to be even busier, as she’s reportedly in talks to star in The Masque of the Red Death, a collaboration between Picturestart and A24.
This announcement follows the recent news that the two-time Emmy-nominated actress will star in Lionsgate's upcoming film adaptation of The Housemaid. She is joined by Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, and Michele Morrone in this project, which is slated for a Christmas Day 2025 release. Other upcoming projects of hers include Euphoria season 3, which is set to start filming this month, a thriller titled Echo Valley and an untitled Christy Martin movie. Now, if she joins the cast of The Masque of the Red Death, we'll have more content to look forward to from the talented actress.
The movie's title might seem familiar to you if you're a fan of Edgar Allen Poe's work. It is based on Poe's 1842 horror short story of the same name and will be the second film adaptation of this piece of work. The first movie adaptation was released in 1964 and starred Vincent Price. As mentioned earlier, A24 and Picturestart are backing this new adaptation, with the indie powerhouse handling domestic distribution.
Charlie Polinger (The Plague), who is mostly known for crafting short films, will write the script and direct the movie. He is also signed on as an executive producer along with Lucy McKendrick. While plot details are being kept under wraps, Deadline describes it as a "wildly revisionist and darkly comedic take" on Poe's work. A genre wasn't specified, but we can't see this film straying away from horror. I mean, the short story was a horror as well as its first movie adaptation. Since it's being described as having comedic elements, it'll probably be a horror-comedy.
Poe's original story centers around a wealthy and arrogant nobleman who hides in his abbey in an attempt to avoid a dangerous plague. Could we see this movie do a gender swap, and Sweeney plays a rich and arrogant noblewoman instead? It would be an intriguing twist, allowing Sweeney to bring a fresh perspective to the story.
Principal photography on The Masque of the Red Death is reportedly set to start sometime this year. Once we have official production information to share, along with other important details, we'll do so right away. But for now, this is all we know about this new potential project for Sweeney.