Production has been suspended on Blake Lively’s new spy movie, The Rhythm Section, as she recovers from a hand injury she sustained while doing a stunt on set in Dublin in December.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 30-year-old actress’ surgery did not go as planned and she must now undergo a second procedure, which will require additional time to recuperate. The crew was reportedly told to find other work for the time being.
“Hiatus on the production of The Rhythm Section has been extended due to the hand injury Blake Lively sustained while filming an action sequence on the action thriller at the end of last year,” the thriller’s producers said in a statement to the magazine on Monday, January 29.
It is unclear when filming will recommence. THR reported that just under half of the Paramount movie has been shot and it could be another five months before production resumes. It is also unclear if the scheduled release date of February 22, 2019, will need to be adjusted.
The Rhythm Section is based on the first of author Mark Burnell’s Stephanie Patrick novels, which follow a woman (played by Lively) who becomes an assassin after learning that the plane crash that killed her family was not an accident.
Director Reed Morano, who also helms the Hulu drama The Handmaid’s Tale, previously told THR that Lively was doing OK after being injured. “She’s just recovering,” Morano said during a January 5 interview. “The problem is that normally, that kind of an injury, you would have four to six weeks of rehab and then you would wear a splint. We have to go into stunts, so it’s very complicated.”
