The Rhythm Section follows heroine Stephanie Patrick who, after the death of her family in an airplane crash on a flight that she was meant to be on, discovers the crash was not an accident. She then seeks to uncover the truth by adapting the identity of an assassin to track down those responsible.

Production will begin later this year, with The Handmaid's Tale filmmaker Reed Morano set to direct. Burnell will executive produce along with IM Global's Greg Shapiro (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty).

“It is exciting for us to be working with the immensely talented team of director Reed Morano and actress Blake Lively, who have a strong vision for this very compelling story driven by a female protagonist," Wilson and Broccoli said in a statement.

Added IM Global founder Stuart Ford: “In Stephanie Patrick, Mark has created a unique female heroine who turns so many of the current cinematic clichés surrounding so-called “kick-ass” female leads on their head. To be bringing such a fresh, realistic and bold international thriller to the big screen with EON Productions, Reed and Blake is an exciting proposition for us all at IM Global.”

Lively is set to star in CBS Films' adaptation of The Husband's Secret, the New York Times best-seller from Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty. The actress was last seen battling sharks in The Shallows and 1940s movie starlets in Woody Allen's Cafe Society.

In addition to Hulu's Margaret Atwood adaptation, Morano is one of the filmmaker's behind Beyonce's visual album, Lemonade. She has several projects in various sates of development including sci-fi drama I Think We're Alone Now, starring Elle Fanning.

Lively is repped by WME, Management 360 and Jackoway Tyerman. Morano is repped by WME.