Deadline is reporting that Blake Lively (The Shallows) has signed on to star in The Rhythm Section, a “female Jason Bourne-type” spy thriller, which is being directed by Reed Morano (The Handmaid’s Tale).
The project, which is being envisioned as the first instalment of a potential franchise, is based upon the series of novels from Mark Burnell which focus on the character of Stephanie Patrick. Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli on are board to produce through EON.
The logline for The Rhythm Section reads: “Patrick (Lively) is on a path of self-destruction after the death of her family in an airplane crash, a flight that she was meant to be on. After discovering that the crash was not an accident, her anger awakens a new sense of purpose and she rises to uncover the truth by adapting the identity of an assassin to track down those responsible. The new, and lethal, Stephanie Patrick is on a mission to fill the void between what she knows and what she is told.”
Lively has recently signed on to star in The Husband’s Secret, an adaptation of Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty’s novel, as well as Paul Feig’s thriller A Simple Favor alongside Anna Kendrick.