Having first acquired the package back in 2022, it looks like Universal Pictures is ready to jump on the Sydney Sweeney bandwagon off the back of the box office success of Lionsgate thriller The Housemaid, with THR revealing that David Bruckner (Night House, Hellraiser) has signed on to write and direct The Caretaker.
Based on the upcoming novel by Marcus Kliewer (We Used to Live Here), the supernatural horror is being produced by Sweeney alongside Michael Bay and Brad Fuller through their Platinum Dunes banner, and will see the actress headlining in the role of Macy Mullins, “a young woman who accepts a caretaking job from Craigslist, only to discover the position has consequences far greater—and more dangerous—than she ever could have imagined.”
The official synopsis for the novel, set for publication this week, reads:
EXCITING OPPORTUNITY: Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY.
Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention—it had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all—vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she’s not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for. Besides, it’s only three days’ work… Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness. What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property—and Macy Mullins might just be the only thing standing between it, and the rest of humanity. Follow the Rites… Follow the Rites… Follow the Rites…
Sweeney – who can currently be seen reprising her role as Cassie in HBO’s Euphoria season 3 – is coming off a box office high with the Paul Feig-directed The Housemaid, which has grossed $401.7 million globally – enough for Lionsgate to confidently date the sequel The Housemaid’s Secret head-to-head with Marvel’s Avengers: Secret Wars in December 2027.
