Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Hollow’ Finds Its Brom Bones in an ‘Off Campus’ Star Belmont Cameli
Washington Irving’s headless horseman has been through many screen versions, including Disney’s animated ‘The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad’, Tim Burton’s Johnny Depp-led ‘Sleepy Hollow‘ and a Fox series that ran for 4 seasons. Hollywood clearly isn’t done with the tale. The latest ‘Hollow’ casting news adds fresh fuel to a very different reimagining of the classic.
‘Hollow’ is Sony’s retelling of ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’, based on a forthcoming novel of the same name by Lindsey Anderson Beer. Sydney Sweeney stars, while Beer is writing, directing and adapting her own debut novel. Sources said Sony came in fast to take the project off the table in a competitive situation.
Now the film has found the man who will square off against its hero. Sony Pictures looks to have found its Brom Bones, as sources tell Deadline that Belmont Cameli is set to join Sweeney in the studio’s adaptation. Brom Bones is the famed antagonist of Irving’s tale.
The story is told through the perspective of Katrina Van Tassel, whom Sweeney will play. Rather than treating her as a romantic prize, the novel makes her the central figure in a dangerous mystery and a seductive supernatural love triangle. That flips the usual formula on its head.
The tone blends gothic atmosphere, psychological intrigue and erotic thriller elements in a contemporary reinvention of the classic tale. In the original, Katrina is the object of affection between the superstitious schoolmaster Ichabod Crane and his rival, Brom Bones. With the film built around that triangle, the casting of Brom carries extra weight.
The other corner of the triangle is still open. The producers are still looking for the movie’s Ichabod Crane, while Cameli was quick to land the role of Bones.
Cameli is riding a serious wave of momentum. On Prime Video’s ‘Off Campus’, he plays Garrett Graham, the Briar University hockey captain. The series drew 36 million viewers in its first 12 days of streaming.
He can also recently be seen in ‘Until Dawn’ and ‘The Alto Knights’. His schedule is busy, too. When he spoke to WWD in May, he was days away from returning to set in Vancouver to begin the second season of ‘Off Campus’.
The timing of the ‘Hollow’ offer makes sense given Sweeney’s own workload. The producers moved fast to find the 2 actors at the center of the love triangle, given her busy schedule. Sweeney was most recently seen in ‘The Housemaid’, a box office success that led to the greenlighting of its sequel, ‘The Housemaid’s Secret’.
Behind the camera, Beer brings a résumé full of streaming hits. She previously directed ‘Pet Sematary: Bloodlines’, which broke Paramount+ viewership records. She also wrote and executive produced ‘Sierra Burgess Is a Loser’, which debuted at No. 1 globally on Netflix.
LuckyChap is producing alongside Beer’s Lab Brew banner and Sweeney, who is producing through her new Honey Trap banner. ‘Hollow’ is Honey Trap’s first film as producer, and the company recently announced a first-look deal with Sony Pictures. That’s a lot of creative control resting with the people who shaped the project from the start.
Sony also has history with its lead. Sweeney starred in the studio’s ‘Anyone but You’, which made over $210 million worldwide. Pairing her with a fast-rising co-star from one of the summer’s biggest streaming hits looks like a calculated bet on a young audience.
What do you think of Belmont Cameli being cast as Brom Bones in Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Hollow’?
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