She’s coming back home for another shift. The Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried led psychological thriller The Housemaid has been a solid box office success — so naturally, Lionsgate has greenlit a sequel.
The second film will be titled The Housemaid’s Secret and will be based on the second novel in the best-selling book trilogy by Freida McFadden. According to a press release from the studio, the movie has been in development for the past few months and will see production start “later this year.” Screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine will return to write the sequel adaptation.
Most importantly, Sweeney and costar Michele Morrone will reprise their roles and director Paul Feig will return to helm the project. Sweeney will also serve as executive producer alongside McFadden.
The Housemaid, which is based on the first novel in McFadden’s series, grossed $133 million since it was released on December 19 and has proven itself to be a commercial hit for the studio thus far. The series overall has sold over 12 million copies, so it’s clear there’s a huge appetite there.
“It’s clear from both the global box office and from the outpouring on social media that audiences have responded strongly – and audibly – to the totally unique and truly theatrical experience of The Housemaid and want to know what happens next,” Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair, explained in a statement.
“We believed in these stories from the very beginning, and we are beyond excited to bring the next chapter of Millie’s story to life on-screen in collaboration with our outstanding creative partners Todd, Paul, Laura, Carly, Alex, and Sydney,” he added. “The Housemaid’s Secret is another wildly thrilling book in Freida’s series that has captivated readers worldwide, and we look forward to translating it into a similarly rousing and riotous moviegoing experience.”
Paul Feig also shared his thoughts on bringing the second book to life. “It’s been thrilling to see audiences around the world fall in love with The Housemaid and the incredible work of our talented cast and crew,” he said in his own statement. “We’re lucky that Freida McFadden has already extended Millie’s journey on the page, and that we get to work with Rebecca Sonnenshine and Lionsgate to bring this next story to audiences.”
Of course there’s no wired on a release date just yet but it seems sometime in the latter half next year makes the most sense.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
