Sydney Sweeney is on an absolute tear right now—fresh off her performance in The Housemaid (now available on Starz and Prime Video), the star is locking down her next major genre project.
A Trip to Sleepy Hollow
Sony Pictures has won a competitive bidding war for Hollow, a high-concept feature film adaptation of the upcoming gothic novel by Lindsey Anderson Beer (Pet Sematary: Bloodlines). Sweeney is officially attached to produce and star in the film, while Beer will write the screenplay and direct.
If you think you know The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, think again. This isn’t your middle-school English class’s Headless Horseman story. Told from the perspective of Katrina Van Tassel (the role famously played by Christina Ricci in Tim Burton’s 1999 classic), Hollow reframes the iconic heroine. Rather than serving as a passive romantic trophy for Ichabod Crane, Katrina is thrust into the center of a dangerous mystery and a seductive, supernatural love triangle. The project is being pitched as a bold blending of gothic atmosphere, psychological intrigue, and erotic thriller vibes.
Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment is on board to produce alongside Sweeney, bringing serious star power behind the camera.
A Popular Tale
While Washington Irving made Sleepy Hollow world-famous in 1820 with his tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman, the town’s real history is a fascinating mix of Native American roots, Dutch settlement, gruesome Revolutionary War history, and 19th-century Gilded Age wealth.
The story has been adapted dozens of times—from Burton’s dark fairy tale to FOX’s long-running TV series—but placing Katrina at the center of an erotic gothic thriller might be the freshest spin on the Headless Horseman in over two centuries.
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For bookworms, Putnam is set to publish Beer’s novel version of Hollow in Fall 2027.
We’ll keep you posted as more details surface.
