Blake Lively To Lead Spy Thriller THE RHYTHM SECTION

It has been announced that a contemporary adaptation of Mark Burnell’s ‘The Rhythm Section’ is in the works with ‘The Shallows’ star Blake Lively headlining and Reed Morano (‘The Handmaid’s Tale’) directing.

The first of Burnell’s “Stephanie Patrick” series of novels, ‘The Rhythm Section’ follows the titular heroine, who 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.

Other novels in the series include “Gemini,” “The Third Woman” and “Chameleon.”

Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, who have produced the last eight Bond films will produce, with Greg Shapiro (‘The Hurt Locker,’ ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ ‘Detroit’) and Burnell serving as executive producers.

‘The Rhythm Section’ will commence production later this year, with plans to shoot in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland and the US.