Rebecca Ferguson Joins Emily Blunt in ‘The Girl on the Train’

After her breakout performance in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, chances are you’ve been fan-casting Rebecca Ferguson in just about everything (cough, Captain Marvel, cough). While the actress won’t be appearing opposite Channing Tatum in Gambit, she has lined up a pretty great new role in an adaptation of the Hitchcockian thriller The Girl on the Train.

Deadline reports that Ferguson took herself out of the running to star in Gambit, leaving Lea Seydoux and Abbey Lee on the lead actress shortlist. She is, however, in talks to star opposite Emily Blunt in The Girl on the Train, the upcoming adaptation of the best-selling novel by Paula Hawkins. The Help director Tate Taylor is set to helm the new film, which has a bit of a Hitchcockian vibe. You may have noticed that Ferguson’s sniper sequence in Rogue Nation was inspired by Alfred Hitchock’s work.

Here’s an official description of Hawkins’ novel:

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

While I struggle with the idea of Taylor directing the adaptation, the cast list so far is great — Blunt will play the role of Rachel, with Ferguson starring as Anna. There’s one more central role yet to be cast.

If you’re itching for even more Rebecca Ferguson, she’s appearing next opposite Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant in Florence Foster Jenkins.