The timeless story telling of Edgar Allen Poe has seen itself appear in film and television through adaptation and homages over the decades. The late, great Vincent Price found himself in a number of these in the early 1960s, cementing himself as an absolute icon of horror. Full on Poe adaptations have been fewer and further between in recent years, which is why we were pleasantly surprised last year to see that A24 was looking to resurrect “The Masque of the Red Death” with Sydney Sweeney attached to star.
Now, a year later, we have more concrete details about the casting, and some new names have been linked to the project.
Sweeney was in talks to star in the Poe adaptation, written and directed by Charlie Polinger, back in January 2025. New reports indicate Polinger is still attached, but Sweeney isn’t, and two new stars are. The first is Mikey Madison. Her star power rose considerably when she won the Oscar for “Anora.” She was also in 2022’s “Scream,“ earning her some horror cred. She’ll reportedly be playing the role of twin sisters caught within a world of debauchery.
This actually leads into a small bit of plot detail that we’re finally hearing about. This interpretation “sees a long-lost twin, hidden among the lower class, enter the castle and into a decadent world of orgies, opium, power schemes, revenge and decapitations.” The castle they’re referring to is one of the central elements of the story of “Masque of the Red Death,” as a wealth king holds a party for the rich while a plague rips through the city, decimating the poor.
This leads us to the other casting reveal- Léa Seydoux. She’ll be playing the role of “a scheming lady-in-waiting who is conniving her way to the top.” It’s vague, but still fits with the film’s atmosphere that is said to be darkly comedic with potential for social commentary. Seydoux is no stranger to wildly artistic projects, having been in the darkly strange “The Lobster” and both “Death Stranding” games, as well as Dennis Villenueve‘s “Dune Part Two.”
Plot details beyond what we’ve discussed have not yet been revealed but we’re eager to see what Polinger manages to cook up here. With Seydoux and Madison on board, there’s a tremendous amount of talent to work with. We’ll continue to provide updates as they become available. In the meantime, maybe stay out of rich people’s castles for a while.
