What’s next for Sydney Sweeney after “The Housemaid”? Deadline reports that the “Euphoria” actress will star in an Edith Wharton adaptation that once had the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, and Sofia Coppola attached.
READ MORE: Sydney Sweeney Coyly Responds To ‘Bond 26’ Casting Rumors
This version of “Custom Of The Country” sees “Mary Queen Of The Scots” director Josie Rourke behind the camera, though. Sweeney will star in the film as heroine Undine Spragg, “a fiercely ambitious woman from the Midwest who strives for the social heights of turn-of-the-century New York. Armed with beauty, daring/hustle and sheer force of will/unwavering ambition, she battles an entrenched elite, fearlessly courting controversy, until love and fortune align.” Rourke adapts Wharton’s 1913 novel for the big screen, with Studiocanal leading producers along with Sweeney, Charles Finch via Rabbit’s Foot Films, and Alison Owen via Monumental Pictures.
This isn’t the first time someone has attempted to “Custom Of The Country,” although the previous two were for TV. The first was announced in 2014, with Johansson set to star, but it never materialized. A more recent attempt was greenlit by Apple TV+, with the streamer giving Coppola quite the payday to helm it, but then Apple backed out because, according to Coppola, “the idea of an unlikable woman wasn’t their thing.” After the limited series’ cancellation, it was revealed that Pugh would have starred in it, making that rendition feel even more like a missed opportunity.
But now the role is Sweeney’s, and the project Rourke’s. “Undine Spragg is the original dangerous woman. Edith Wharton’s character has forever fascinated, seduced and infuriated readers,” the director said in a press release about the film yesterday. “”The Custom of the Country” was Wharton’s great American novel, and Undine Spragg sweeps across America and through Europe at top speed, during a time of immense economic and social change. The book whistles with modernity, and as I was writing this adaptation, Sydney Sweeney lived in my head as this iconic character — it’s as if Wharton sat down a century ago and wrote the role for her. I’m thrilled to be working with this luminous actor, Charles Finch, Alison Owen and Studiocanal to bring this novel to the screen.”
Studiocanal launches worldwide sales for “Custom Of The Country” at the Berlinale‘s European Film Market next month. Maybe a distributor like NEON swoops in for rights to its US theatrical release?
“Custom Of The Country” will likely be Sweeney’s next onscreen leading role after “The Housemaid,” which just surpassed $200 million at the global box office. Other upcoming film projects for the actress include a “Gundam” adaptation, an “OutRun” adaptation, and “I Pretended To Be A Missing Girl,” based on a Reddit short story. Sweeney also has a cameo in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” in theaters this summer. She’s also in “Euphoria” S3, which premieres on HBO/HBO Max on April 12.
So, will this version of “Custom Of The Country” reach audiences? With shooting on it to start soon, it looks like Rourke’s adaptation with Sweeney will succeed where previous attempts failed.
