Sydney Sweeney was always destined to have a big year. Big years, rather. Yet this year’s works-in-progress include her Christy Martin biopic, The Housemaid (currently filming), the final Euphoria season (supposedly for-sure filming this year), and Scandalous!, a movie directed by Colman Domingo.

Well, Sweeney reportedly has even more on her plate (she is “in talks,” at least) if she stars in a movie that Deadline reports “will shoot his year.” Let’s talk about the Edgar Allan Poe lore to come in The Masque Of The Red Death.

Plot

The film will (obviously) adapt Edgar Allan Poe’s same-named short story, but don’t expect a straight remake of the 1964’s The Masque of the Red Death (which was directed by Roger Corman with Vincent Price as Prince Prospero). Nor should we expect (to borrow words from our own Jessica Toomer on Netflix and Mike Flanagan’s The Fall Of The House of Usher series) this to be a “Death By: Radioactive Orgy” story about spoiled Pharma-heir Prospero Usher while he’s taunted by sexy Carla Gugino in a mask, although that was an entertaining take.

The A24 and Picturestart movie’s tone might not be too terribly different from the Flanagan treatment of Poe, however. As Deadline has revealed, A24 is undertaking “a wildly revisionist and darkly comedic take on the short story” that will be directed and written by Charlie Polinger. The Poe short story, of course, details Prince Prospero’s avoidance of the Red Death plague.

Although there are no clues yet on how the movie will be updated, Flanagan’s previous treatment of Prospero delivered cutting commentary on the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare as a billionaire’s business, and that’s precisely the type of contemporary twist that could work in a movie about the Red Death in our current age. Heck, that approach could even bypass a bunch of pandemic talk (because let’s face it, nobody wants to watch a movie about that topic) and revolve around classism instead.

I can only hope that Sweeney recycles this incredible mask for this movie.

Cast

Currently, Sweeney is the only reported cast member, but she would obviously headline, and if they filmed her in every role, nobody would be mad. After all (and as the saying goes), people would watch her read the phone book.

Release Date

With the project filming this year, we can look forward to a 2026 release.

Trailer

No filming yet = no trailer. But did you catch Sweeney’s scream-queen turn in Immaculate? Turn down the sound before watching this: