The Hollywood Reporter has brought word that Sophia Lillis, the 16-year-old actress who broke out in last year’s horror smash It, has signed on to star in the fantasy thriller Gretel and Hansel in the starring role.
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Another twist on the classic brothers Grimm tale, the film is set a long time ago in a distant fairytale countryside and will tell the tale of a young girl who leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil.
The film, set for distribution by Orion Pictures, is being written by Rob Hayes (Chewing Gum) and will be directed by Osgood Perkins, who is most known for writing and directing horror films The Blackcoat’s Daughter starring Emma Roberts and Kiernan Shipka and I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House starring Ruth Wilson.
Lillis found her breakout performance in last year’s adaptation of the Stephen King classic It as abused pre-teen Beverly Marsh, earning widespread praise for her vulnerable performance, and is set to reprise the role in the sequel that is currently filming in Canada and is scheduled to wrap on Oct. 25. She also appeared in the highly-acclaimed HBO miniseries adaptation of the Gillian Flynn novel Sharp Objects as a younger version of Amy Adams’ Camille Preaker.
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She will next be seen in the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment adaptation of the classic sleuth novel, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, in the titular role, which is set to debut sometime next year.
