Sydney Sweeney to star in another literary adaptation after ‘The Housemaid’ success

Sydney Sweeney will be starring in the movie based on Edith Wharton’s novel ‘Custom of the Country’. After the success of ‘The Housemaid’, this will be Sydney Sweeney’s second film based on a novel. Josie Rourke is directing ‘Custom of the Country’ from her own script that adapts the classic 1913 novel.‘Custom of the Country’ stars Sweeney as Undine Spragg, an ambitious Midwestern woman seeking to climb the social ladder in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. As described in the official press release, Undine Spragg, “armed with beauty, daring/hustle and sheer force of will and unwavering ambition, battles an entrenched elite, fearlessly courting controversy, until love and fortune align.” According to Variety, Rourke describes Undine Spragg as the “original dangerous woman” and feels the casting of Sweeney is kismet, adding that it’s as if “Wharton sat down a century ago and wrote the role for her.”“Edith Wharton’s character has forever fascinated, seduced, and infuriated readers. ‘The Custom of the Country’ was Wharton’s great American novel, and Undine Spragg sweeps across America and through Europe at top speed, during a time of immense economic and social change,” Rourke said before adding “The book whistles with modernity and as I was writing this adaptation, Sydney Sweeney lived in my head as this iconic character, it’s as if Wharton sat down a century ago and wrote the role for her.”Josie Rourke is best known for her directorial debut, Mary Queen of Scots, starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie for Focus Features.Filmmaker Sofia Coppola had planned to adapt Edith Wharton’s novel in 2020. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Coppola explained in a 2024 interview that her project was no longer moving forward.As for Sydney Sweeney, she’s coming off the success of director Paul Feig’s ‘The Housemaid,’ along with co-stars Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar. The film was adapted from author Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel. In the upcoming projects for Sweeney, she will feature in the third season of ‘Euphoria’, which is another big project.