Sydney Sweeney to Star in and Produce Film Adaptation of The Custom of the Country

Sydney Sweeney is set to star in and produce a new film adaptation of The Custom of the Country, the classic novel by Edith Wharton. The project will be written and directed by Josie Rourke, known for Mary Queen of Scots.

Sweeney will play Undine Spragg, an ambitious young woman from the American Midwest who is determined to climb New York’s high society at the turn of the 20th century. According to the official description, Undine uses her beauty, boldness, and relentless ambition to challenge an elite social world, courting scandal as she pursues love, wealth, and status.

Rourke has called Undine Spragg the “original dangerous woman” and said casting Sweeney felt inevitable. She added that it seemed as though Wharton had written the role specifically for the actor, despite the novel being published more than a century ago.

“Undine Spragg has fascinated and frustrated readers for generations,” Rourke said in a statement. “The Custom of the Country is Wharton’s great American novel, full of modern energy. As I wrote the adaptation, Sydney Sweeney lived in my head as Undine—it felt like perfect alignment.”

Casting director Nina Gold is currently assembling the supporting cast, and principal photography is expected to begin soon.

The novel was previously considered for adaptation in 2020, when filmmaker Sofia Coppola planned a miniseries starring Florence Pugh for Apple. That project ultimately did not move forward.

The film will be produced by Charles Finch, Sweeney, and Alison Owen of Monumental Pictures, with StudioCanal fully financing the project. StudioCanal will release the film theatrically across its territories, including the UK, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand, and will handle worldwide sales.

Finch said he has worked for years to bring the novel to the screen and praised both Rourke’s adaptation and Sweeney’s involvement, calling the project powerful, passionate, and fun.

The film also reunites Sweeney with StudioCanal, which recently released her box office hit The Housemaid in Australia and New Zealand. The thriller, backed by Lionsgate, has grossed approximately $250 million worldwide.

StudioCanal CEO Anna Marsh said the company is excited to bring Wharton’s sharp social observations to a new generation, led by Rourke’s vision and Sweeney’s performance as the formidable Undine Spragg.