“The Gossip Girl grad will star in CBS Films’ adaptation of “The Husband’s Secret,” the New York Times bestseller from ‘Big Little Lies’ author Liane Moriarty.
Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, and Andrew Miano are producing via their Depth of Field shingle. Lively will also executive produce the adaptation, which is currently out to potential directors.
Lively will play Cecilia Fitzpatrick a chronic perfectionist whose suburban bubble is burst when she finds a note from her husband addressed to her with instructions to open it in the event of his death. But, he’s still alive. She then discovers a secret that her husband has been keeping from her for years which leads her to realize that her life is built on a foundation of lies and murder.
Mark Ross and Alex Ginno are overseeing the project for CBS Films, which acquired the book in 2013, prior to the release of the hit HBO series, but with the success Reese Witherspoon-fronted series (and now Lively’s attachment) the studio and producers are making “The Husband’s Secret” a priority.
“Liane Moriarty has established herself as one of the defining voices of the modern woman and Blake Lively’s unique combination of vulnerability, strength and extraordinary talent makes her the perfect actress to realize Moriarty’s creation,” said CBS Films president Terry Press.
Moriarty’s other works are also on the Hollywood fast-track. “Big Little Lies” stars Nicole Kidman and Witherspoon optioning the 2016 novel ‘Truly Madly Guilty,’ while Sony’s TriStar has the rights to ‘What Alice Forgot,’ which at one point had Jennifer Aniston attached to star.
Lively was last seen battling sharks in “The Shallows” and the 1940s movie starlet in Woody Allen’s “Café Society.”
