That headline is a mouthful. Yes, Nicholas Galitzine is in final negotiations to play Ichabod Crane in “Hollow,” Sony's gothic reimagining of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” starring Sydney Sweeney as Katrina Van Tassel.
Belmont Cameli co-stars. Lindsey Anderson Beer (“Pet Sematary: Bloodlines”) is directing and adapting her own debut novel, which Putnam won't even publish until fall 2027.
The pitch has Washington Irving's tale retold from Katrina's point of view, recasting her as the center of a supernatural mystery and a “seductive” love triangle rather than the prize two men compete over. Deadline describes it as gothic atmosphere, psychological intrigue and — there's that genre again — “erotic thriller.” This is a “Sleepy Hollow” movie being sold as horny and spooky.
Galitzine needs this to go right. He's been everywhere since “Red, White & Royal Blue” and “The Idea of You,” but his first real shot at leading a blockbuster didn't land well. “Masters of the Universe” sat at roughly $103M worldwide against a budget in the $200M range. Pairing him with Sweeney in an R-rated gothic romance is either genius or misbegotten. We'll see.
Of course, I'm a fan of Tim Burton's “Sleepy Hollow.” Hell, I'm a fan of anything Burton did in the '80s and '90s. His take on Ichabod remains one of the best-looking studio films of its decade, with Lubezki as DP, and Johnny Depp's twitchy Ichabod is still the definitive version for a generation.
Do we need another “Sleepy Hollow”? Probably not, but I can't say I'm not curious. Too bad I don't have much faith in Beer; “Bloodlines” didn't exactly inspire confidence. Regardless, it starts production early next year.
As for Sweeney, she's juggling about a dozen projects at once. There's “Euphoria.” She's coming back for “The Housemaid's Secret,” set for December 2027. She's set to star in the film adaptation of the video game “Split Fiction,” with Jon M. Chu directing. She shot Legendary's live-action “Gundam,” has “The Custom of the Country” in post-production, and Edgar Wright's “Barbarella” remake is apparently still moving forward at Sony. She might actually have four movies coming out next year.
This last Irving take is being described as gothic atmosphere, psychological intrigue and — there’s that genre again — “erotic thriller.” This is a “Sleepy Hollow” movie being sold as horny and spooky.