In the 2020 action thriller The Rhythm Section, Blake Lively took a walk on the dark side to play an assassin with a deadly score to settle. A moment of déjà vu is on its way because the actress is once again wielding guns and knives up for a similar role in the upcoming Netflix original series, Lady Killer.
Lively has been cast in the lead role of Lady Killer, an adaptation of the Dark Horse comic of the same name. In the comic, written by Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich, a 1950s woman named Josie Schuller attempts to navigate between her life as the picture perfect housewife and her other reality as a lethal for-hire assassin. Keeping the two circumstances completely separate isn’t easy — Josie’s loved ones are often in danger without even knowing it because of her dangerous profession — but she loves her job just as much as she loves her family. There’s gotta be a way to make both work...right?
Diablo Cody has signed on to write the script for the upcoming Netflix project, which is exciting in terms of the potential of a fully formed, complex, and intriguing female lead. Cody’s award-winning filmography includes hits like Juno, Tully, and Jennifer’s Body. Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg will also produce the project, as will Lively and Kate Vorhoff under their production company B for Effort.
Lady Killer is one of many recent comic book adaptations to hit Netflix, and it may already have ties to a popular series already on the streamer. Dark Horse Entertainment is also the machine behind Umbrella Academy, the sci-fi action show about the superpowered Hargreeves siblings. As a result, Lady Killer and Umbrella Academy technically exist in the same universe, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for a time-traveling crossover between the two series at any point.