After winning the Oscar for Best Actress at the recent Academy Awards, Mikey Madison has found her next project and is in talks to star in “Masque of the Red Death,” writer/director Charlie Polinger’s wildly revisionist take on the short story of the same name by Edgar Allen Poe, for A24 and Picturestart, The Wrap has learned.
Sydney Sweeney was previously on board to star, but bowed out due to scheduling conflicts.
The “Masque of the Red Death” centers on the long-lost twin sister of a Duchess who infiltrates the kingdom’s walls, impersonating her dead sister, who, unbeknownst to the kingdom, fell victim to the fast-rising killer pandemic known as “The Red Death.”
Polinger and Lucy McKendrick will executive produce. A24 has acquired worldwide distribution rights for the film.
Previously, Madison was briefly in talks, but ended up passed on joining Ryan Gosling in a “Star Wars” movie called “Starfighter,” according to an insider with knowledge of the project. Madison was previously being eyed to star and an offer was made.
Playwright, director, and auteur Polinger is currently in post on his eagerly anticipated film “The Plague, which was made independently and stars Joel Edgerton. He is repped by UTA and Anonymous Content.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.