A24 Adapting Poe’s ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ with Sydney Sweeney in Talks to Star

The classic Edgar Allan Poe tale of The Masque of the Red Death is headed back to the screen with a new movie adaptation from A24 and Picturestart, Deadline reports today.

Additionally, the site notes that Sydney Sweeney (Immaculate) is in talks to star.

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.”

Deadline details in today’s report, “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. Details behind this new take are being kept under wraps. Sources say the film will shoot this year.”

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.

Brian Keiper wrote on BD back in 2021, “For many, The Masque of the Red Death (1964) is the apex of the [Corman-Poe] series. It is certainly one of the most visually stunning horror films ever made, thanks in large part to the extraordinary cinematography by Nicolas Roeg.”

“Vincent Price revels in his role as the only completely irredeemable villain of the cycle, Prince Prospero, who humiliates members of his court and terrorizes his subjects for his own entertainment,” Keiper continues. “This film holds particular relevance to today as we are again faced with plague and the indiscriminate nature of death. It is a powerful reminder of imminent mortality and the fact that death will eventually come for us all.”

It’s because the plague tale is sadly so relevant today that A24 is likely bringing The Masque of the Red Death back to the screen, with talks of a “darkly comedic take” on the story piquing our interest. Sydney Sweeney is one of the hottest young stars in Hollywood today, and the pairing of Sweeney, Poe and A24 is nothing if not a compelling one. Stay tuned for more.

And if you’re hungry for more Poe, make sure to check out Mike Flanagan’s masterful Netflix series “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which puts its own spin on the Red Death tale.

‘The Masque of the Red Death’ (1964)

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