In a quote making the rounds last week, James Bond franchise producer Barbara Broccoli (a name which must be sung in the classic SNL style of Dana Carvey) said Bond could never be a woman; instead, Esquire reports, Broccoli is more invested in creating new, original roles for women—perhaps like the one played by Blake Lively in The Rhythm Section, which Broccoli produced. Paramount has released a new trailer for the action-thriller, which was initially scheduled to hit theaters last year and stars Lively as a woman seeking revenge against the people responsible for killing her entire family. Maybe, like Atomic Blonde before it, The Rhythm Section will serve to further underline Broccoli’s point about the need for women to have their own roles in action films.
The Rhythm Section hits theaters on January 31 courtesy of director Reed Morano, best known for her work on The Handmaid’s Tale. Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown co-star in the film, which was written by Mark Burnell, who adapted his own novel (the first in a series). Here’s the official synopsis:
Blake Lively stars as Stephanie Patrick, an ordinary woman on a path of self-destruction after her family is tragically killed in a plane crash. When Stephanie discovers that the crash was not an accident, she enters a dark, complex world to seek revenge on those responsible and find her own redemption. Based on the novel by Mark Burnell, from director Reed Morano (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and the producers of the James Bond film series, The Rhythm Section also stars Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown.