Blake Lively And Anna Kendrick Tapped For New Thriller From ‘Ghostbusters’ Director

Filmmaker Paul Feig made a reputation for himself primarily in the comedy world, but began incorporating elements from other genres to build a more diverse resume, bringing complicated actions sequences into Spy and horror elements into Ghostbusters. His latest project, however, will leave the comedic elements behind to make a straightforward thriller, tapping Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick to star in the adaptation of the novel A Simple Favor, according to The Tracking Board.

Jessica Sharzer (American Horror Story) has written the screenplay based on the 2017 novel of the same name, written by Darcey Bell.

The thriller will follow female-fronted mystery thrillers like Gone Girl and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, with the plot being described as “a single mother’s life is turned upside down when her best friend vanishes.”

If the casting of Lively and Kendrick becomes official, the film would be slated to shoot this fall.

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Feig’s last film, the reboot of Ghostbusters, was unfortunately surrounded by controversy, with sexists putting the film in their sights for swapping out the previous male-driven cast for some of the most talented female actresses available. Campaigns were launched preemptively to shoot down the film from the moment its trailer debuted, with men uniting to attempt to make the trailer the most disliked video on YouTube.

Regardless of all the negative attention the film received, it ended up becoming a costly endeavor that wasn’t able to reach the levels of success it had hoped for, taking in roughly $130 million domestically on a budget of nearly $150 million. Despite plans for a massive shared universe of Ghostbusters films, the reboot’s disappointing box office numbers might have permanently ended those possibilities.

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Although Feig’s 2016 might not have been what he hoped it could be, Lively had a successful year, with her shark thriller The Shallows becoming a surprise success, earning nearly $120 million worldwide on a budget of less than $20 million.

Similarly, Kendrick scored a surprise hit with the animated Trolls musical, based on the ’90s toy line, which also earned an Academy Award nomination. The year prior, the actress earned her highest box office performance to date, with Pitch Perfect 2 taking in nearly $290 million worldwide. Kendrick did also have small roles in the Twilight saga and earned herself an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in Up in the Air.