Kirsten Dunst Joins Sydney Sweeney in ‘The Housemaid’ Sequel

Kirsten Dunst has joined the cast of The Housemaid’s Secret, the upcoming sequel to the 2025 psychological thriller The Housemaid, alongside returning star Sydney Sweeney.

The film continues a franchise that has quickly established itself as a commercial success. The first installment, released in 2025 and based on Freida McFadden’s bestselling novel, earned close to $400 million worldwide, positioning it as one of the year’s standout hits. Its combination of domestic suspense, unreliable characters, and twist-driven storytelling helped it gain traction with a wide audience.

In the original film, Sweeney played Millie, a young woman with a troubled and largely undisclosed past who takes a job as a live-in maid for an affluent family. As the story unfolds, the seemingly ideal household reveals increasingly disturbing secrets, placing Millie in a precarious and psychologically fraught position.

The sequel picks up with Millie in a new setting. According to a synopsis released by the studio, the character takes another domestic job, this time for an employer she is never allowed to meet. As in the first film, the narrative centers on hidden identities and restricted spaces, with the story building around the mystery of a locked door and the implications of what lies behind it.

Details about Dunst’s role have not been fully disclosed, but her casting signals a shift in tone and scale for the sequel. Known for her range across both independent and studio films, Dunst brings a different kind of screen presence to the project, one that suggests the sequel may broaden its focus beyond Millie’s perspective alone.

Lionsgate executive Erin Westerman described Dunst’s addition as a significant development for the franchise, emphasizing her ability to take on complex and unpredictable roles. The studio appears to be positioning the sequel as both a continuation of the original story and an expansion into a larger narrative framework.

Returning behind the camera is Paul Feig, who directed the first film and will once again oversee the adaptation. Screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine, who worked on the initial screenplay, is also returning. The production team remains largely intact, including producers from Hidden Pictures and Sweeney’s Fifty-Fifty Films banner.

Michele Morrone is set to reprise his role as Enzo, a supporting character from the first film. However, the sequel will not include the original household portrayed in The Housemaid. Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar, who played the central couple in the first film, will not return, as the story shifts to a new environment and set of characters.

The decision to move away from the original family suggests an anthology-style approach, where Millie’s story continues across different households, each with its own secrets and power dynamics. That structure could allow the series to evolve while maintaining its core premise: a protagonist navigating increasingly dangerous domestic spaces.

For Dunst, the project adds to a recent run of high-profile roles across film and television. She has been balancing large-scale productions with more character-driven work, including appearances in Civil War and upcoming projects with director Ruben Östlund. She is also attached to the sequel to A Minecraft Movie, signaling a continued presence in both commercial and prestige-driven filmmaking.

Production timelines for The Housemaid’s Secret have not been fully outlined, but the film is expected to move forward quickly given the performance of its predecessor and the returning creative team.