1992’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is getting a remake featuring one of the stars of Longlegs. The original 1990s psychological thriller followed a young mother named Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra) who finds herself targeted by Mrs. Mott (Rebecca De Mornay), the widow of her abusive doctor, who poses as a nanny in an attempt to kill her and take over her family. The movie, which also starred Matt McCoy, Ernie Hudson, and Julianne Moore, earned $140 million against its roughly $12 million budget, becoming the ninth highest-grossing title at the domestic box office for the year.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Maika Monroe has signed on to play the twisted nanny in a 20th Century Studios remake of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, which is now in development. This is the star’s first major casting since playing the lead role of Lee Harker in the 2024 horror hit Longlegs. The movie, which is being produced by Department M’s Michael Schaefer and Mike Larocca and Radar Pictures’ Ted Field, is set to be directed by Huesera: The Bone Woman‘s Michelle Garza Cervera from a screenplay by Micah Bloomberg.
What This Hand That Rocks The Cradle Remake Means
Maika Monroe Is Playing A New Kind Of Role
This role offers the star an opportunity to play a very different kind of character. Typically, Maika Monroe horror movies see her playing a victim squaring off against various menaces including the titular killer in Longlegs, the relentless entity in It Follows, Dan Stevens’ super-soldier in The Guest, and more. Taking on the role of the iconic villain will allow her to flip the script and show off her range after achieving further notoriety with the role of Lee Harker.
Other Maika Monroe horror movies include Significant Other, Watcher, and Villains.
Now is likely the right time for Monroe to embrace a villainous role, as Longlegs is affording her one of the biggest platforms she has had to date. The movie was a smash hit both critically and commercially, earning $108.5 million against a budget of less than $10 million in addition to a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 85%. In fact, it is the highest-grossing original horror movie of 2024 so far, with the second place title being the South Korean release Exhuma at $97.9 million worldwide.
Our Take On The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Remake
The Movie Could Be A Trendsetter
If it becomes a success, the remake of The Hand That Rocks The Cradle could help kick off a new trend of remakes of 1990s stalker movies. The first inkling of a move toward this trend was likely the Fatal Attraction TV show, remaking the iconic Oscar-nominated 1987 movie. However, the genre became more robust in the 1990s with titles including Single White Female, The Crush, Poison Ivy, and more, none of which have yet received a direct remake.
Source: THR
