In recent years, Mikey Madison has quietly emerged as a defining presence in contemporary arthouse cinema. From her breakout in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to her raw, Oscar-winning turn in Anora, Madison has carved out a niche playing women who are as compelling as they are chaotic. Her next role might just cement that reputation: she’s currently in talks to replace Sydney Sweeney as the lead in A24’s The Masque of the Red Death, a feverish reimagining of the Edgar Allan Poe classic. Here's what we know.
What is The Masque of the Red Death about?
Described as “wildly revisionist,” this adaptation comes from director Charlie Polinger, who is also behind the upcoming indie drama The Plague, currently in post-production. Set in a world gripped by disease, the film follows a mad prince who invites the wealthy elite into his castle to escape the spreading plague. Inside, he throws a decadent masquerade ball in seven elaborately decorated rooms.
Madison is reportedly set to play twin sisters who have been separated by class and circumstance. One has grown up inside the prince’s inner circle, surrounded by luxury, while the other has lived among the lower classes, struggling to survive in the diseased world outside. When the long-lost sister infiltrates the castle, their reunion becomes the catalyst for a collision of identities, and the unraveling of the illusion of safety behind the castle walls.
Who is cast?
Originally, the role of the twins was thought to have gone to Sydney Sweeney. But according to reports, the actress has had to step back due to scheduling conflicts.
If Madison takes her place, it will mark only her second project since she won the Oscar for Best Actress. The first is Reptilia, the latest movie from filmmaker Alejandro Landes Echavarría, which also stars Kirsten Dunst.
