So, We’re Getting A ‘Housemaid 2’
Here is everything we know about the sequel of the recent blockbuster hit, 'The Housemaid'
There’s a very specific kind of silence that falls over a theatre when a film knows exactly how far it can push an audience. An oh boy, did The Housemaid push us far.
We all know the tooth scene. We remember it. I don’t think half of us even watched it. By the time that scene arrived, the entire auditorium seemed to recoil in unison, bodies tensing, faces scrunching, everyone simultaneously horrified and unable to look away.
The entire movie was lurid, mean, glossy, and absolutely committed to the bit.
So yes, of course we’re getting The Housemaid 2. After all, when you make $133 million worldwide in under three weeks on a $35 million budget, and do it while reviving a genre Hollywood allegedly buried in the ’90s, you don’t just walk away.
The Housemaid Knew Exactly What It Was Doing
Directed by Paul Feig — a man better known for broad comedy than psychosexual menace — The Housemaid landed like a welcome act of bad behaviour. Adapted from Freida McFadden’s 2022 bestseller, it wore its influences proudly: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Basic Instinct, a little suburban noir sheen, a lot of gaslighting, and zero interest in subtlety. The result? A psychological erotic thriller that was knowingly outrageous.
The story follows Millie (Sydney Sweeney), a young woman with a carefully edited past who takes a live-in housekeeping job at the isolated upstate New York mansion of Nina and Andrew Winchester. On the surface, it’s a standard setup: wealth, domestic unease, a marriage that doesn’t quite add up. But the film takes its time revealing how deeply manipulative, cruel, and performative that environment really is. Nina, played by Amanda Seyfried with unnerving control, shifts between brittle politeness and explosive volatility, while Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) exudes the version of the perfect, charming husband. As the movie progresses, the seemingly mundane household conflicts curdle into something far more sinister.
The film’s pleasures are not subtle ones. It revels in reversals, gaslighting, and exaggerated cruelty, pushing situations until they border on absurd. Seyfried, in particular, delivers a performance that is amazing.
And well, the commitment paid off.
The Housemaid currently holds a 73% critics’ score and a 92% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with many reviewers calling it a welcome throwback to multiplex thrillers that didn’t apologise for being messy or provocative.
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson made the studio’s thinking clear while announcing the sequel. “It’s clear from both the global box office and from the outpouring on social media that audiences have responded strongly — and audibly — to the totally unique and truly theatrical experience of The Housemaid and want to know what happens next,” he said.
So What Exactly Is The Housemaid’s Secret?
The sequel will adapt The Housemaid’s Secret, the second novel in McFadden’s trilogy, which follows Millie as she takes on a new job with another wealthy family — and, inevitably, another set of carefully concealed horrors. The book series has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, with the second instalment alone accounting for four million, making the cinematic continuation less of a gamble and more of a foregone conclusion.
Paul Feig is returning to direct, with Rebecca Sonnenshine once again handling the screenplay. Sydney Sweeney will reprise her role as Millie and serve as an executive producer, alongside McFadden. Michele Morrone is also set to return, and production is expected to begin later this year, pointing to a likely 2027 release.
Amanda Seyfried has hinted that Nina’s presence isn’t entirely done either. Speaking at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, she told Variety, “I almost guarantee that I’m gonna be some small cameo in it… I really wanna see how she keeps Nina Winchester in her pocket, because I will jump the f*** back into that.”
Why This Franchise May Just Work
Erotic thrillers rarely spawn franchises, largely because they’re built to implode. But The Housemaid positions Millie less as a one-off protagonist and more as a recurring figure — a woman navigating systems of wealth, control, and violence that repeat themselves in different forms. The sequel doesn’t need to escalate the spectacle; it just needs to reframe it.
Feig himself seems aware of the opportunity. “We’re lucky that Freida McFadden has already extended Millie’s journey on the page,” he said, “and that we get to work with Rebecca Sonnenshine and Lionsgate to bring this next story to audiences.”
The Housemaid’s Secret now has the advantage of knowing exactly what viewers want — tension, transgression, and the pleasure of watching rich people’s façades crack under pressure. If it delivers even half the collective gasps of the first film, Millie’s next shift is already clocked in.