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Sydney Sweeney is turning a chilling Reddit story into a film. I Pretended to Be a Missing Girlis in the works at Warner Bros. after the company won the rights to the package, beating out its competition. Not only is Sweeney set to star in the film, but she's also adding the project to her list of productions she will produce via her Fifty-Fifty Films. Along with her, Oscar-winning Forrest Gump American screenwriter Eric Roth is expected to write the script.

Written by Joe Cote, a high school Massachusetts English educator, "I Pretended to Be a Missing Girl So I Could Rob Her Family" is about the consequences of greed with intense twists and turns. Ten years after a family's daughter disappeared, a young woman shows up at the house of her family with the intention of pocketing valuable items. Initially, she was supposed to just stay for one night; however,...

Sydney Sweeney is getting further into the thriller genre.

The actress/producer is set to lead the adaptation of a short story that first originated on Reddit, “I Pretended to Be a Missing Girl,” which was written in 2021 by high school English teacher Joe Cote. The viral short story is now getting a big screen adaptation by way of Oscar-winning “Forrest Gump,” “A Star Is Born,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” scribe Eric Roth, with Sweeney starring and producing, an individual with knowledge of the project told IndieWire.

Cote’s story, titled “I pretended to be a missing girl so I could rob her family,” centers on a drifter (Sweeney) who impersonates a missing girl ten years after she went missing to rob her family, only to realize it’s a terrible mistake. The drifter plans to convince the family she is their missing child, and stay just for...

Four years ago, a high school English teacher posted a short story to Reddit, a tale with Gone Girl-worthy twists and turns. Now, Joe Cote is in the midst of his own real-life plot twist.

The Massachusetts-based educator’s project is in development as a feature, with Sydney Sweeney attached to star and produce, and Oscar-winning Forrest Gump scribe Eric Roth penning the script.

Warner Bros. has won the rights to the package in a competitive situation that now puts the teacher on Hollywood’s radar. He first landed representation after manager Aaron Folbe of Underground Entertainment stumbled upon the story and sought Cote out for a meeting.

Sweeney’s involvement on the project then pushed it into overdrive, with her bringing Roth aboard.

Cote’s story, titled “I pretended to be a missing girl,” centers on a young woman who shows up at a family’s doorsteps ten...