Sydney Sweeney's Sleepy Hollow Remake Is Officially Replacing Johnny Depp's Character

Published Sep 19, 2026, 8:45 PM EDT

Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. 

Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones).

The source for the 1999 Sleepy Hollow movie is once again being used as inspiration for a brand new film, this time titled Hollow. The upcoming project, which will star Sydney Sweeney, was just recently grabbed up by Sony Pictures, so it will be a while before it finally comes to our screens. Thankfully, between Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 1999's Sleepy Hollow, and Lindsey Anderson Beer's debut novel Hollow, we have a good idea of what Sweeney's upcoming movie will beabout.

This all started 206 years ago with the publication of the short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which follows a timid, recently arrived schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, who hopes to woo the lovely Katrina Van Tassel. However, Katrina is also a prize in the eyes of Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, who manages to win her hand when Ichabod mysteriously disappears following a supernatural confrontation with a headless horseman.The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has been adapted and reimagined in a variety of ways, one of which is Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci's Sleepy Hollow. The 1999 movie casts Ichabod as a police constable who arrives in Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of murders. In this version, Ricci plays Katrina Van Tassel, who becomes both appealing and suspicious to Depp's character. The general plot, here, is nearly unrecognizable from Irving's short story, making Sleepy Hollow a fresh and especially gothic take. Now, Sony's Hollow will once again twist the tale.

Hollow Retells Sleepy Hollow From The Perspective Of Katrina Van Tassel

Filmmaker Lindsey Anderson Beer, known for Sierra Burgess Is a Loser and Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, is having her debut novel, Hollow, published in the fall of 2027, and along with it will come a feature film. The story here does not relate directly to Depp's Sleepy Hollow, but it is yet another reimagining of Irving's original short story. This time around, rather than shift Ichabod Crane's occupation and fate, Beer's version of the story will elevate Katrina Van Tassel from secondary prize to central protagonist.

Beer is directing, writing, and producing the film adaptation of her book, Hollow.

It's an interesting concept, of course, as we are far more used to Ichabod Cranes like the one portrayed by Depp sitting at the center of the story. Sweeney will clearly take on the role of Katrina Van Tassel as Hollow re-establishes her iconically deadly love triangle. Beer's novel is described as a supernatural thriller layered with gothic romance, erotica, and psychological intrigue. Naturally, the Hollow film is expected to be all that and more.

Sydney Sweeney Has Two Big Pairs Of Boots To Fill

In this day and age, general audiences are more likely to have watched Depp's Sleepy Hollow than they are to have read Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Therefore, this is the standard to which Hollow will be held. It's a tall order, largely because of Depp's star power as a leading man (especially through the '90s and '00s). These are big shoes to fill, and Sweeney stepping in as a spiritual replacement for Depp's protagonist will automatically put her under the public eye. Of course, this actor isn't just taking over Depp's role as Sleepy Hollow's protagonist, but is also stepping into Ricci's shoes to portray Katrina Van Tassel.

Both Depp and Ricci have that haunted quality, which has served them well while working with director Tim Burton. Sweeney has a different sort of vibe, but it takes no effort to imagine her within the aesthetic expected of Hollow. Her performance should be sufficiently different from either Depp's or Ricci's to establish some independence here, without stepping on their toes. Precisely how it will all work is still uncertain, but we already have plenty of reason to keep our eyes out.