Sadie Sink in Talks to Star in A24's The Guest Adaptation

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Sadie Sink has lined up her next move after Stranger Things and the Marvel universe. The actor is in talks to star in and produce The Guest , a feature adaptation of Emma Cline's bestselling 2024 novel, with Lorene Scafaria in talks to write and direct. Deadline, which broke the story on October 9, reports that A24 and Square Peg are in negotiations for the rights to the book. Variety confirmed the project the same day. The book Published by Penguin Random House in 2024, The Guest follows "a calculating grifter" navigating "the treacherous world of summer in the Hamptons." The novel was longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award and named a Belletrist Book Club pick. Deadline says it was a best book of the year for The New Yorker, Time, NPR, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Vogue, Glamour, Newsweek and Good Housekeeping, among others. How the deal came together Studios and stars have chased the rights since the book came out, Deadline reports, and Sink was among its biggest fans. When word spread over the summer that the rights were on the market, sources told Deadline that Sink moved fast to attach herself to the package, with Scafaria joining soon after. Insiders say around 12 other buyers took part in the auction, but the Sink-Scafaria package from A24 and Square Peg won out. A24 is now in exclusive negotiations for the rights. Sink will produce alongside Square Peg. Key facts Project: The Guest Based on: Emma Cline's 2024 novel (Penguin Random House) Star and producer: Sadie Sink (in talks) Writer-director: Lorene Scafaria (in talks) Studio: A24, with Square Peg producing Status: A24 in exclusive negotiations for the rights Sink's run With Stranger Things ending last winter, Sink has moved quickly into the next stage of her career. She played Jean Grey opposite Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Variety reports that it became the highest-grossing film in US domestic box office history after opening in July. She will reprise the role in Marvel's X-Men reboot, directed by Jake Schreier. Deadline says production begins at the start of next year, and Variety gives a release date of May 5, 2028. Variety also points to her performances in the Oscar-winning film The Whale, the recent West End production of Romeo and Juliet, and a Tony-nominated turn in John Proctor is the Villain on Broadway. Scafaria's track record Scafaria is best known for Hustlers (2019), the Lionsgate drama starring Jennifer Lopez. She also wrote and directed Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and The Meddler, and wrote the screenplay for Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. On television, she directed episodes of New Girl and HBO's Emmy-winning Succession, earning DGA and Primetime Emmy nominations for the latter, Variety says. She is currently an executive producer and director on HBO's I Love LA. A busy slate for Scafaria The Guest adds to an already full schedule for the filmmaker. In November 2025, Deadline reported that Scafaria would write and direct an untitled musical inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland for Universal Pictures, starring and produced by Sabrina Carpenter. Marc Platt is producing through Marc Platt Productions, with Leslie Morgenstein and Elysa Koplovitz Dutton producing through Alloy Entertainment. The same report noted that Scafaria had signed to direct Jonty, an A24 comedy starring Jesse Plemons and Cole Escola, which would make The Guest at least her second A24 project in development. She also directed several episodes of Rachel Sennott's HBO series I Love LA, including the pilot. Sink is represented by WME and Peikoff Mahan, while Cline is represented by Anonymous Content and the Clegg Agency, Deadline says. What's next The deal is not final until A24 completes its rights negotiation. If it closes, The Guest would be one of Sink's first major film leads since Spider-Man: Brand New Day. For more big-screen news, see our film and movies hubs, and our report on the latest book-to-screen box office hit . Sources: Deadline | Variety | Deadline (Nov 2025)