Besson wrote the script for Lucy, which centers on a woman forced to become a drug mule. But the drug instead goes into her system, transforming her into an ass-kicking machine. She can absorb knowledge instantaneously, is able to move objects with her mind and can't feel pain and other discomforts.

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Besson will produce with his EuropaCorp CEO Christophe Lambert.

Thanks to the success of the Taken movies, EuropaCorp has been expanding its English-language operations and recently hired veteran production executive and producer Lisa Ellzey to join its Los Angeles offices. The Paris-based production and distribution entity, which is publicly traded, has been on a tear of late. It announced a 61 percent revenue increase in year-over-year revenue to $48.7 million when it released its quarterly results in February.

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Lucy brings Besson back to his 1990s heyday, when he made movies with strong heroines such as La Femme Nikita and Joan of Arc as well as, to a lesser extent, The Professional and The Fifth Element. He most recently wrapped the Mafia drama Malavita, which stars Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones; the movie will be distributed by Relativity later this year.

The deal keeps Johansson in the action game. The actress, known for her turn as butt-kicking operative Black Widow in the Marvel movies The Avengers and Iron Man 2, would shoot Lucy after wrapping Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which she is filming.

Besson is repped by attorney Peter Nichols. Johansson is handled by CAA.

Email: Tatiana.Siegel@THR.com, Twitter: @TatianaSiegel27

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