When you adapt an iconic novel, you sometimes need to take big swings, as Bridesmaids director Paul Feig did with his adaptation of The Housemaid, led by acclaimed actresses Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried.
No spoilers here, but Feig and screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine take some big swings. It's all part of the process, as Feig explained.
“It [comes down to] what's gonna make it a little more cinematic,” Feig said of the changes to his version of The Housemaid. “Things that work in a book are really great, kind of psychologically on the page, but if they got it on screen, sometimes it might not be dynamic enough. So, it's really figuring out where we can up the stakes to make it fun on the screen.”
The biggest risk Feig and Co. took was the ending. “We also added a whole ending that's not in the book,” Feig explained, “which is very satisfying for a lot of the book readers.”
According to Feig, they have screened The Housemaid for readers of the book, and the consensus seems to be positive. Feig did concede that he was nervous before the die-hard fans of the book saw the movie. Now, he's ready for the world to see his version of the story.
Above all else, there was the looming presence of the original author of The Housemaid, Freida McFadden, who loved the changes. Feig claimed that McFadden “said she wished she had done that in the actual book.”
For Feig, he felt that if they went with the book's ending, viewers may have “wanted a little bit more.” So, they opted for the ending they went with, which may be divisive. Does it Hollywood-ify The Housemaid too much? Only time will tell as more book readers and those who haven't read it see it.
Will Paul Feig's The Housemaid get sequels?
McFadden has written three installments in the Housemaid series. The most recent entry, The Housemaid is Watching, was released on Nov. 22, 2024. So, it appears the series remains relevant as ever.
Feig is down to make movies, should The Housemaid warrant it. Ultimately, it likely comes down to box office success. “It just depends on how this one does,” Feig conceded. Though it sounds like Sweeney and Seyfried would be game to return, as he added, “If this one does really well, I think we'd love to do another one.”
However, it does sound like Feig would stick close to the second Housemaid book, should he get the opportunity to adapt it. Still, there would be some necessary tweaks to make it more “cinematic,” as Feig likes to do.
“I mean, the second book is really fun,” he praised. “So, beyond doing whatever fixes we want to do to make it more cinematic and all that, I think it'd be really fun.”
Feig has had a spotty history with sequels. Bridesmaids has yet to get one despite being a smash hit, while A Simple Favor's long-awaited sequel — Another Simple Favor — came out in May 2025. Maybe The Housemaid will be the one to break through the glass ceiling.
The Housemaid will be released on Dec. 19.
