Florence Pugh To Star In 'The Maid,' An Agatha Christie-Style Murder Mystery For Universal

Florence Pugh is cleaning up at Hollywood. The rising star, who stole the show in Greta Gerwig's Little Women and is set to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Black Widow, has been cast in Universal's Agatha Christie-style murder mystery, The Maid. Pugh will play, you guessed it, the maid.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Florence Pugh is set to play the titular character in Universal's big-screen adaptation of Nita Prose's debut novel, the Maid. Described as  an "Agatha Christie-like murder mystery," the film follows Pugh's unlikely detective, a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel who discovers the body of a wealthy guest.

Here is the description of the film per THR:

Molly works at Regency Grand Hotel and tidies up the guests' messes and sweeps up their secrets. But things take a suspenseful turn when she discovers an infamous wealthy guest, Mr. Black, dead in his bed and sets about to solve the mystery of his demise.

The Maid will be produced by Josh McLaughlin and Chris Goldberg through their companies Wink Pictures and Winterlight Pictures, respectively. Pugh will also produce, while Prose will executive produce. No director or writer has yet been set on the project.

Prose's novel The Maid hasn't yet been published (Penguin Random House set its publication for 2022) but it seems Universal is keen to jump on film, especially in the wake of renewed interest in Agatha Christie-style mysteries thanks to Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of the novelist's classic Murder on the Orient Express and Rian Johnson's stylish 2019 riff on the Christie mystery with Knives Out. And the Christie craze is only continuing with Branagh's upcoming Death on the Nile and Johnson's confirmed Knives Out sequel.

And Pugh couldn't be a better choice to lead such a murder mystery — the scene-stealing star is the talk of the town after earning an Oscar nomination for her performance in Little Women, and giving standout turns in films like A24's horror hit Midsommar, and indies like Lady Macbeth and Fighting With My Family. And Pugh's star is only rising higher, with supporting roles in films like Marvel's Black Widow and a lead role in Olivia Wilde's Don't Worry Darling. Pugh has been carrying films for a while now, but Don't Worry Darling and The Maid will be her first lead roles in major Hollywood releases, not just indie films. It's only the natural route for her to take, and one that will prove her stardom to the moviegoing public at large.