It was directed by Katt Shea, with a screenplay by Nina Fiore and John Herrera, and served as a reboot of the Nancy Drew film series.
[3] The movie, produced by A Very Good Production and Red 56 and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, stars Sophia Lillis in the role of amateur detective Nancy Drew, as she investigates a haunted house.
While performing community service as punishment for a prank on a school bully, Nancy meets Flora, an elderly woman needing help with an apparent haunting in her home.
That night, strange things begin to happen, with lights going out and then exploding, cabinet doors and drawers opening, and a cloaked figure appearing and warning Nancy to give up her mystery.
It is revealed that Wharton and Nate were working together to sabotage the anti-train movement, and that they intended to force Flora to sell her house so the line could be built through her property.
On April 20, 2018, it was reported that Sophia Lillis would star in the film adaptation of Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, which would be produced by Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Kleeman, and Chip Diggins for Warner Bros.
[8] In June, other casting was announced which included Zoe Renee as George, Mackenzie Graham as Bess, Laura Slade Wiggins as Helen, Sam Trammell as Carson, Linda Lavin as Flora, and Andrea Anders as Hannah, along with Jay DeVon Johnson, Andrew Matthew Welch, Jon Briddell, Josh Daugherty, Evan Castelloe, and Jesse C.
The website's consensus reads, "Elevated by a well-cast Sophia Lillis, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase leads audiences into a genially entertaining new take on the venerable character.
[15] Peter Debruge of Variety praised the "consistently clever script" saying it "isn't nearly as interested in the mystery as it is in Nancy Drew herself, or in the circle of characters and relationships that surround her.
He also praises Lillis for her performance and says she is "the freshest thing to happen to Nancy Drew in decades, making it clear that casting was the solution that has so often eluded this series in its jump from page to screen in the past.