Sydney Sweeney has been on a mission to cement her status as a leading movie star, and 2025 proved she might just pull it off. Since her breakout role in ‘Euphoria’, the 28-year-old has juggled film projects, production gigs– and high-profile brand deals. Yet, the year brought its share of hurdles, from backlash over her American Eagle jeans campaign to whispers that controversies tanked films like Americana and Christy. Those doubts faded fast with ‘The Housemaid,’ Paul Feig’s thriller that soared past $247 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo, outgrossing her rom-com hit ‘Anyone But You’. Thus, OTT giant wasted no time greenlighting ‘The Housemaid’s Secret’, the sequel drawn from Freida McFadden’s second novel, with production slated to kick off this year.
A triumphant 2025 breakout
The original film follows Millie Calloway, played by Sweeney, a parolee fresh out of prison who lands a live-in housekeeper gig with the affluent Winchester family in Long Island. Amanda Seyfried shines as Nina Winchester, the unstable wife, while Brandon Sklenar plays her menacing husband, Andrew. What starts as a seductive affair between Millie and Andrew spirals into horror when his abusive true nature emerges. Locked in an attic room, Millie uncovers Nina’s elaborate scheme to escape her tormentor. In a brutal twist, Millie fights back, stabbing Andrew and staging his death as an accident. Nina helps cover it up, hands her a $100,000 check, and even lines up her next job with another troubled household.
Sequel stakes and star evolution
This sequel marks uncharted territory for Sweeney, her first return to a film role. Unlike the first movie, where Seyfried’s Nina bows out, Millie steps fully into the spotlight as a “heroic femme fatale,” defending women from predators. In the book sequel, she joins a new wealthy couple, the Garricks, tending to a supposedly bedridden wife amid suspicious signs of control and harm. Fans wonder if audiences will embrace this evolved Millie, who shifts from victim to avenger.‘The Housemaid ‘ proved her draw at the box office. Now, The Housemaid’s Secret tests if she can carry a series and own a darker persona. Hollywood watches closely, but Sweeney seems built for the spotlight.
