It was announced earlier this year that A24 and Picturestart were developing a new adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death. Today, THR reports that it may have found its new star.
Oscar winner Mikey Madison (Anora, Scream) is in talks to star.
Sydney Sweeney (Immaculate) was previously attached to the film but dropped out due to scheduling issues.
Charlie Polinger (Fuck Me, Richard) is writing and directing The Masque of the Red Death for A24, said to be a “wildly revisionist and darkly comedic take on the short story.”
Madison would play “twin sisters in a story that sees a mad prince take in the noble class into his castle while a plague devastates the peasantry. The story 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.”
THR also describes the project as “a quintessential A24 movie, one that likely will include eye-brow raising, meme-able scenes that should resonate among the TikTok class.”
The original Poe short story follows a prince who attempts to avoid a dangerous plague, known as the Red Death, by hiding in his abbey. Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death was originally published in 1842, and the tale was notably brought to the big screen as part of the Corman-Poe Cycle back in 1964. Roger Corman directed the adaptation for American International Pictures, with Vincent Price starring.
The in-demand Madison was also recently attached to Reptilia, a thriller that “tells the story of a dental hygienist who is seduced by a mysterious mermaid into the dark and wet underworld of Florida’s exotic animal trade.”
The Masque of the Red Death is set to go into production at the end of this year or early next year, so stay tuned for additional details as they arrive.
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