Sydney Sweeney's 'Housemaid's Secret' locked for December 2027 release

Directed by Paul Feig, the film is a sequel to the hit thriller The Housemaid.

'The Housemaid' became a commercial hit with nearly USD 400 million globally against a USD 35 million budget. That movie opened to a modest USD19 million but remained a major draw throughout the holiday season, as per Variety.

Lionsgate, the studio behind the twisted R-rated suspense thriller, is again positioning the film as counter-programming during the busy Christmas corridor. "The Housemaid's Secret" is currently scheduled to debut on the same day as "Avengers: Secret Wars" and "Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum," which hail from male-skewing franchises.

Sydney Sweeney will return alongside Michele Morrone, who also appeared in the first film. Kirsten Dunst is joining the cast. Based on Freida McFadden's bestselling novel, the sequel picks up as Sweeney's Millie -- who was hired in the initial story as the live-in maid for a wealthy family with a dark secret -- taking a job "keeping house for a woman she's never allowed to see -- only to discover the truth behind the locked door that threatens to expose secrets far darker than her own."

'The Housemaid's Secret' will go on floors by the end of this year. Paul Feig is back to direct alongside screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine, who adapted the first book. Feig is also producing with Todd Lieberman of Hidden Pictures, Laura Fischer of Pretty Dangerous and Sweeney through Fifty-Fifty Films. (ANI)