Following her breakout in cult killer-thriller, Longlegs, Maika Monroe solidified her status as a modern horror icon. Now, she’s swapping gut-wretching gore for sentiment and sarcasm in director Julia Jackman’s queer fantasy-fable, 100 Nights of Hero.
For a woman who specialises in playing the scream queen, a role that typically involves incessant jump scares, unpredictable dangers, and whodunnit murders, actor Maika Monroe is surprisingly gung-ho about what comes next.
“During my last year of high school I was like, ‘I’m done with acting. I don’t want to do it anymore.’ I moved to the Dominican Republic, I was training and starting to compete in kiteboarding,” she tells us, from her home in Los Angeles. Her glassy skin catches the morning sunlight. “With acting and auditioning, it was out of my control. I would go to class, work with a coach, get really close to a role and then it would go to someone else. It was hard and frustrating because I wanted it so badly. At the same time, I was training in kiteboarding and I would get better, stronger, and I could actually see the progress. I liked that it was more tangible.”
After a serendipitous self-tape – and being blessed with an uncanny facility for sharp-eyed character detail – Maika finally landed her first role in director Ramin Bahrani’s, At Any Price. It was the moment that forced a quiet reckoning: was it time to trade the life she’d built on the water for one on the screen?
“It changed the course of my life,” she explains. Sofia Coppola then tapped Maika for a brief appearance in the scandal-slick world of 2013’s, The Bling Ring, graduating Maika into indie cinema’s inner circle. Things got creepy fast, and stayed that way, as roles in 2014’s psychological thrillers, It Follows and The Guest, 2022’s horror, Watcher, and cult-favourite, Longlegs, opposite Nicholas Cage, nailed her down as an emerging horror-aficionado-to-watch. Nevertheless, still with bills to pay.
“I was auditioning for everything. I just had to make money to feed myself and pay rent. There was no ‘I’m going to be picky.’ I read the script for It Follows and I remember thinking, ‘This is so weird.’ If you have seen the film you can imagine what reading it on paper was like. But when I look back, some of the films I am most proud of are in the horror space. It Follows felt like a real turning point in the genre. It was cool to witness and be part of. I do not want to be pigeonholed, which is why I am trying different things now. But I love horror and I will keep doing it as long as the scripts and roles are great.”
She isn’t abandoning the signature scream-queen intensity that vaulted her into the genre, but she is flexing it into a new register with 100 Nights of Hero, a fantasy-romance where she stars as its dystopian heroine, opposite Emma Corrin, Charli XCX, and Nicholas Galitzine.
Set in the mythical land of Migal Bavel, the film marks director Julia Jackman’s sophomore feature, arriving in 2026. Maika leads as Cherry – a supposedly docile wife destined for childbirth only – who instead rises as an unexpected defender of women’s rights when her impotent husband (Amir El-Masry) attempts to frame her for infidelity with his friend (Nicholas Galitzine). The film is a visual feast: a blood-soaked Nicholas raising a stag’s head as Manfred; Charli XCX’s Rosa draped in velvet, plucking an engorged metal lute; Maika floating through scenes in virginal white, balloon-sleeved dresses that feel Virgin Suicides meets The Handmaid’s Tale in a kooky alternate realm.
“The script stood out because it was incredibly unique. It was written so beautifully that you could visualise the world Julia wanted to build,” she tells us. This film came right after the success of Longlegs and what I loved about that project was how original it was. It was indie but felt like it could reach a huge audience. 100 Nights of Hero had that same feeling. It was niche yet relatable. I knew it would be stunning and I thought, ‘I need to be part of this.’”
Beneath the fantasy, though, is a deeply human centre. Maika and Emma Corrin – who plays Cherry’s maid and eventual lover, Hero – anchor a queer love story that fights unapologetically for women’s freedom in a world where reading and writing are crimes. “Julia had us watch films to prepare and one of them was Orlando with Tilda Swinton. The tone was so similar. It felt ahead of its time when it came out. Underneath 100 Nights of Hero there is a powerful story, but there is also a lot of comedy. We wanted that to come through.”
And it does. With its sharp timing and dry humour, especially in Manfred and Hero’s subtle standoffs as they vie for Cherry’s affection, the comedy threads through the film. And apparently, it didn’t stop when the cameras cut. “I have not been on a project recently where everyone was the same age. That was fun because there was so much room to play. We were hanging out between setups, listening to music, making TikToks. The energy was really special. It’s funny because at the time Charli’s album Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat had just come out. Emma loved it. We turned Nick into a fan. We were listening to “Everything is romantic featuring Caroline Polachek.” When I hear that song now, I am back on that set, sitting in our little tent, wearing crazy costumes and laughing. We even made our own version with our own lyrics. It was hilarious. It is written down somewhere. Maybe it will surface.”
As fun as Maika doing a Charli XCX feature sounds, it’ll have to wait. She’s adding yet another string to her bow with Colleen Hoover’s tragi-romance, Reminders of Him. Swapping intimate indie sets for a big-budget blockbuster, she steps into the universe shaped by the infamous It Ends With Us. Expect tears – lots of them – as Maika plays Kenna Rowan, an ex-convict searching for a second chance after a drunk-driving accident that killed her boyfriend.
“There’s a lot of pressure around adapting a book that has such a big fan base. I was definitely nervous about that,” she says, reflecting on her decision to take on the role. “But what was different about this project was that Colleen adapted the script and was also a producer on it. She was on set every day with us, which she hasn’t done on her other films. It was really nice to know that I would have her. I was like, ‘Okay, we’re in good hands. We can do this.’” With the trailer alone worthy of a tear or two, its March 2026 release is not one to miss. As Maika puts it best, “It’s a heavy hitter.”
And just when you might forget who you’re dealing with – horror royalty – she’s pushing herself again. This time, into villainy. “It was really fun playing the bad guy in The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. I had such a good time. I have always been on the other side. I have always been the one running. It felt intriguing to be the villain.”
Even reading Maika’s schedule feels exhausting. With 100 Nights of Hero and Reminders of Him arriving in 2026, and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle freshly released, her determination borders on superhuman. Any chance she’s slowing down for the holidays?
“I am about to be able to breathe. It has been nonstop this year. I am taking the rest of the year off. I am actually going on a trip with my dad. We are going to Brazil to kiteboard for three weeks. I am going to be on a beach sipping a margarita and kiteboarding all day. Much needed.”
For now, the unforgettable impression Maika has carved out onscreen has earned her the rarest luxury in Hollywood: choice. And for her, that choice is shaped by integrity. “It is about being specific and making choices that mean something. I want to stay in the space of original stories. I think you go through phases in your career,” she says. “Right now I just want to work with people I look up to and respect, whether it is a first-time director with an amazing short film or Yorgos Lanthimos, who I have been obsessed with since his early work.” A pairing we’d very much like to witness.
Photography by Ryan Lee Clemens
Styling by Anastasya Kolomytseva
Words by Erica Rana
Hair by Laura Polko at The PRTNRS.
Make-up by Allan Avendaño at A-Frame Agency
Photography Assistant Ethan Benavidez
Fashion Assistants Claudia Chick, Jane Steele
Fashion Film by Brooke James
DP Nyk Allen
Gaffer Thomas Siggurdsson
1st AC Sean Maydoney