French star Léa Seydoux has signed on to join Mikey Madison in ‘The Masque of the Red Death,’ A24’s bold reworking of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tale. The film is being directed by Charlie Polinger and is described as a twisted, darkly comic reinterpretation of the original story.

The project is being produced by Julia Hammer and Erik Feig for Picturestart, alongside James Presson and Lucy McKendrick. A24 is handling worldwide distribution, while Polinger also serves as an executive producer. Production is scheduled to begin in Hungary this February.

While A24 is keeping plot details tightly under wraps, the studio has characterized the film as “wildly revisionist” with a dark comedic edge.

The story centers on a deranged prince who shelters the aristocracy within his castle as a deadly plague ravages the lower classes. When a long-lost twin—raised among the peasants—gains entry to the castle, she is plunged into a lavish and depraved world marked by excess, political intrigue, vengeance, opium-fueled decadence, orgies, and brutal executions.

Madison will portray twin sisters, while Seydoux is set to play a calculating lady-in-waiting, a character who schemes relentlessly in her pursuit of power.

A Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner and five-time César Award nominee, Seydoux has built a career moving fluidly between French cinema and Hollywood productions. Her international breakthrough came with ‘Inglourious Basterds,’ followed by major studio roles in ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Spectre,’ one of two James Bond films in which she appeared. Most recently, she featured in Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune: Part Two’ as Lady Margot Fenring.

In the coming year, Seydoux will headline several high-profile projects, including Arthur Harari’s ‘The Unknown,’ Marie Kreutzer’s ‘Gentle Monster’ opposite Catherine Deneuve, and the Zellner Brothers’ ‘Alpha Gang,’ where she stars alongside Cate Blanchett and Dave Bautista.

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