Washington DC [US], January 22 (ANI): Actress Sydney Sweeney will star in and produce a film adaptation of 'Custom of the Country', a classic Edith Wharton novel, reported Variety.

According to Variety, Josie Rourke is directing and writing the adaptation of the classic Edith Wharton novel. Sweeney plays Undine Spragg, an ambitious Midwestern woman who attempts to ascend the social ladder in turn-of-the-century New York.

As described in the official press release, Undine Spragg, 'armed with beauty, daring/hustle and sheer force of will and unwavering ambition, battles an entrenched elite, fearlessly courting controversy, until love and fortune align,' reported Variety.

Casting director Nina Gold is in the process of building the ensemble around Sweeney, according to a press release. Principal photography is expected to begin imminently.

Rourke describes Undine Spragg as the 'original dangerous woman' and feels the casting of Sweeney is kismet, adding that it's as if 'Wharton sat down a century ago and wrote the role for her,' reported Variety.

'Edith Wharton's character has forever fascinated, seduced and infuriated readers. 'The Custom of the Country' was Wharton's great American novel and Undine Spragg sweeps across America and through Europe at top speed, during a time of immense economic and social change,' Rourke said in a statement as quoted by Variety.

'The book whistles with modernity and as I was writing this adaptation, Sydney Sweeney lived in my head as this iconic character -- it's as if Wharton sat down a century ago and wrote the role for her,' added Rourke.

Filmmaker Sofia Coppola had planned in 2020 to turn Wharton's novel into a miniseries starring Florence Pugh, but the project, set at Apple, never came to fruition, as per Variety. (ANI)