Blake Lively’s Next Project Isn’t What Fans Might Expect

Just months after making her directorial debut, Blake Lively has her sights set on a new project and career milestone. The actress is set to make her feature directorial debut with Seconds, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The upcoming film, for Searchlight Pictures, is an adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel of the same name.

Published in 2014 by Random House’s Ballantine Books imprint, Seconds follows the story of Katie Clay, the owner and head chef of the titular restaurant who receives the power to fix her past mistakes by writing something she wants to change in a notebook, eating a mushroom, and falling asleep. As Katie begins abusing the power, her newfound ability begins to create new problems “that threaten not only to take her further and further from the life she initially had but the very fabric of time and space itself.”

Details of the project remain unclear at this time. The film’s script is written by Edgar Wright, who adapted the 2010 cult classic Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which was based on O’Malley’s six-volume Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series. Wright is also attached to Seconds as producer along with Marc Platt.

While Seconds will mark Lively’s film directorial debut, the actress made her directorial debut in November 2021 when she helmed the music video for Taylor Swift’s “I Bet You Think About Me,” a song from “The Vault” featuring Chris Stapleton on Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) re-recorded album. The video, which starred Miles Teller and his wife Keleigh Sperry Teller, earned Lively two nominations at the American Country Music Awards for directing and producing.

Represented by Management 360, WME and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern, Lively has numerous acting credits to her name. She is well-known for her portrayal of Serena van der Woodsen on The CW’s Gossip Girl between 2007 and 2012. Her film credits include The Rhythm Section, A Simple Favor, All I See Is You, The Shallows, Café Society, The Age of Adaline, Savages, Green Lantern, The Town, Accepted, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, among others.

O’Malley, meanwhile, is best known for his Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series. The graphic novels series, published from 2004 to 2010 by Oni Press, was adapted into a film in 2010. Although the movie underperformed at the box office, it has since become a cult classic. O’Malley has an anime adaptation of Scott Pilgrim in development at Netflix.