Maika Monroe Starring in New ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’

Maika Monroe as ‘Julia’ in Chloe Okuno’s ‘Watcher.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of IFC Midnight. An IFC Midnight release.

Preview:

Maika Monroe is starring in a new take on ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’.
It’s a new version of the 1992 thriller.
Michelle Garza Cervera is directing the movie.

Welcome to the latest chapter of remake theater, where a studio digs a recognizable title out of its archives and intends to give it a new coat of cinematic paint, with fresh talent involved.

In this case, the company is 20th Century Studios, and the movie is 1992 psychological thriller ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,’ which helped give Rebecca De Mornay a big career boost when she starred as the vengeful Peyton Flanders, who wreaks havoc on a family.

“Trust is her weapon. Innocence her opportunity. Revenge her only desire.”

R1 hr 50 minJan 10th, 1992

Now, the new take on the story will see ‘Longlegs’ and ‘It Follows’ Maika Monroe starring.

What’s the story of ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’?

Rebecca De Mornay in ‘The Hand that Rocks the Cradle’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.

The 1992 original, directed by Curtis Hanson, co-starred Annabella Sciorra. Amanda Silver, these days better known for her work on the ‘Planet of the Apes’ movies (including this year’s ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’), wrote the script.

It follows Flanders (De Mornay), a twisted widow (whose dead husband was, er, a sex offender) who, distraught over losing her own baby, insinuates herself into a family (of a woman who was one of her husband’s victims) as their nanny, with the ultimate goal of taking the kids and the husband for herself.

What new twists and turns the new version have in store have yet to be revealed, but we can’t imagine audiences would be impressed with a straightforward re-telling.

Who else is working on the new ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’?

(L to R) Annabella Sciorra and Rebecca De Mornay in ‘The Hand that Rocks the Cradle’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.

Alongside Monroe, the creative team includes scriptwriter Micah Bloomberg, who previously worked on 2022’s ‘Sanctuary’ and created TV series ‘Homecoming’.

In the director’s chair this time is Michelle Garza Cervera, who directed the likes of ‘Huesera: The Bone Woman.’

She was also selected for the 2023 Sundance Momentum Fellowship and was nominated for Breakthrough Director at the 2023 Gotham Independent Film Awards.

Where else have I seen Maika Monroe?

Maika Monroe as ‘Julia’ in Chloe Okuno’s ‘Watcher.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of IFC Midnight. An IFC Midnight release.

As we previously mentioned, Monroe is the star of this year’s biggest indie hit, ‘Longlegs’, which was directed Oz Perkins and co-starred Nicolas Cage.

She broke out big with David Robert Mitchell’s ‘It Follows,’ and was also seen in ‘Significant Other,’ ‘Watcher,’ ‘Villains’ and ‘Honey Boy.’