‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ (2025) Cast Interviews

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(L to R) Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead star in Hulu’s ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’.

Premiering on Hulu October 22nd is ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’, which was directed by Michelle Garza Cervera (‘Huesera: The Bone Woman’) and is a remake of the classic 1992 film of the same name. The new movie stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (‘10 Cloverfield Lane’), Maika Monroe (‘Longlegs’), Raúl Castillo (‘Smile 2’), and Martin Starr (‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’).

“Good help is hard to find.”

Release Date: Oct 22, 2025

Run Time: 1 hr 42 min

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe about their work on 2025’s ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’, their first reactions to the screenplay, their approach to their characters, and working with director Michelle Garza Cervera.

Related Article: Mary Elizabeth Winstead Joins Maika Monroe in a New Take on ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Caitlin Morales in 20th Century Studios' 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'. Photo by Suzanne Tenner. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Moviefone: To begin with, Mary, were you a fan of the original movie, and what was your first reaction to the screenplay for this new updated version?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: I hadn’t seen the original film, but I had a real awareness of it, and I was aware of what spoke to in terms of the genre and the feeling of it. So, it conjured up certain images and ideas in my mind when I heard the title. I think when I read the script, I was blown away by what felt to me like a modern telling of it, even though I hadn’t seen the original, I could sense that this was a very updated version just by the approach that it was taking. It felt very empathetic towards these female characters, both my character and Maika’s character in a way that was unusual to see from any genre film from years past. So that was exciting to me to know that we were going to be doing something that was likely bringing it forward and in some way. When I went to look back at the original film, I was just reading about it, and I could see that the plot was very different. So that allowed me to go, I’m going to leave that over here. We’ll do our thing and let it kind of stand on its own.

(L to R) Maika Monroe as Polly Murphy and Nora and Lola Contreras as Josie Morales in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’. Photo by Suzanne Tenner. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Maika, were you a fan of the original, and can you talk about your approach to playing this complex character?

Maika Monroe: I had seen the original a while back, and yes, it’s one of those movies you don’t forget. When I was told about this project and a remake, I was like, “I don’t know. What do you do with that?” I read the script, and I was just blown away by both these female characters that are so complex. It’s such a grounded story. I feel like this version is much more grounded and I think people can relate or put themselves in maybe both of our shoes. After reading it, I was like, “I must play Polly. I must do this”. I knew it would be a challenge. I knew it would be hard and something very different from anything I’ve ever done. But I had an absolute blast. I loved it and I love Polly. I fell in love with her an it was great.

(L to R) Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Caitlin Morales and Maika Monroe as Polly Murphy in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’. Photo by Suzanne Tenner. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Mary, can you talk about Caitlyn and Polly’s relationship and creating that on set with Maika?

MEW: It was amazing because Maika is so talented and made it so easy. I think every day coming into set, I never knew what she was going to do or how she was going to be approaching it, or how much she was going to reveal to me or not. So, that was always exciting to be able to go into the scene and be in it with her and be very free in that sense of like, “Okay, this is this is what I’m kind of feeling and grappling with and let’s see what she throws at me in terms of where that’s going to take me.” So as an actor, that’s just fun. It’s so exciting to be able to live in that space and this whole film felt like that. We all had our characters, and we knew who they were, and we were able to step on set and live amongst each other and play out the scenes and let them be what they were. That’s just so fun as an actor. I loved every minute of it.

‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ director Michelle Garza Cervera.

MF: Finally, Maika, what was it like for you collaborating with director Michelle Garza Cervera on set?

MM: Michelle’s incredible, genuinely one of my favorite directors I’ve ever worked with. She was very precise. She knew exactly what she wanted but was incredibly collaborative and was open to all our ideas and trying it in a different way and that was the perfect recipe. I just feel like she’s born to direct, and I think her career is going to be massive and incredible. I cannot wait to see what she does next.

‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ premieres on Hulu October 22nd.

What is the plot of ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’?

Suburban couple Caitlin and Miguel Morales hire seemingly sweet Polly to take care of their newborn baby. But Polly’s true motives have little to do with singing lullabies — much to the horror of the couple.