We’ve known for four years, ever since she was in post-production on her feature directorial debut Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, that writer/director Lindsey Anderson Beer intended to make a reimagining of the classic horror story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Since it was taking so long to get the movie version of her idea into production, Beer turned the story into a novel called Hollow, which she has sold to Putnam, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Now, Deadline reports that the book deal has put the feature adaptation on the fast track, with Sydney Sweeney (The Housemaid) signing on to star in the film.

Beer will be writing and directing the film, which LuckyChap will produce along with Beer through her Lab Brew banner. Sweeney will also be producing through her Honey Trap banner.

What is this Sleepy Hollow reimagining about?

Sleepy Hollow originated with author Washington Irving’s 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Set in 1790, Irving’s story has the following description: Sleepy Hollow is a strange little place…some say bewitched. Some talk of its haunted valleys and streams, the ghostly woman in white, eerie midnight shrieks and howls, but most of all they talk of the Headless Horseman. A huge, shadowy soldier who rides headless through the night, terrifying unlucky travellers. Schoolteacher Ichabod Crane is fascinated by these stories…. Until late one night, walking home through Wiley’s swamp, he finds that maybe they’re not just stories. What is that dark, menacing figure riding behind him on a horse? And what does it have in its hands? And why wasn’t schoolteacher Crane ever seen in Sleepy Hollow again?

Irving’s story has had many adaptations and re-interpretations over the years, including the classic Disney animated movie, a recent Fox television series, and the 1999 Tim Burton film Sleepy Hollow.

Beer’s Hollow is said to be a bold reimagining of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, told through the perspective of Katrina Van Tassel. Reframing one of literature’s most iconic heroines, the novel positions Van Tassel not as a romantic prize, but as the central figure in a dangerous mystery and seductive supernatural love triangle. The story blends gothic atmosphere, psychological intrigue, and erotic thriller elements into a contemporary, high-concept reinvention of the classic tale. The novel is scheduled for release in Fall 2027.

Sweeney will play Van Tassel in the film adaptation.

What do you think of Sydney Sweeney and Lindsey Anderson Beer teaming up for a new take on the Sleepy Hollow legend? Let us know by leaving a comment below.