The actor will play an “original villainous character”.

Ryan Reynolds has landed a rare villain role in Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s “bold” new Netflix movie, which serves as a live-action adaptation of a beloved children’s book. Based on Kay Thompson’s 1955 book Eloise, the new film will follow a young girl who lives in the “room on the tippy-top floor” of New York City’s Plaza Hotel.

Newcomer Mae Schenk will play the titular character, while Reynolds is reportedly on board to play an “original villainous character”

Sherman-Palladino is on board to direct and write the adaptation, while Hannah Marks and Linda Woolverton are co-writing the screenplay.

Described as a “wholly original adventure”, Netflix recently landed rights to the film, which has been in development since 2020.

Speaking about the live-action adaptation, Hannah Minghella, Head of Feature Animation and Family Film at Netflix, said in a statement: “Eloise has been beloved for generations, from when she was first published in the 1950s through to today, when no family trip to New York City is complete without a stop at The Plaza.”

She continued: “It’s an honour to reintroduce this cherished character to the world with two people who share her signature mischief and charm – Amy Sherman-Palladino and Ryan Reynolds – in this bold, hilarious, and heartfelt new family film.”

Reynolds, who isn’t best known for playing villains, has played the bad guy just a handful of times in the past few decades, so the new role will mark a departure from his usual style.

The actor played a serial killer in the 2014 film The Voices. He also technically played a villain in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine when Wade Wilson was turned into Weapon XI.

In 2005’s The Amityville Horror, he played the antagonist George Lutz, though his character was possessed by an evil spirit, so technically he wasn’t actually a villain.

Matt Winkelmeyer

Earlier this year, Sherman-Palladino and husband Daniel released a new comedy-drama titled Étoile.

The Prime Video series about two ballet companies in New York and Paris was a hit among viewers and critics alike, and it currently has a rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes from 51 reviews.

“Étoile has all the elements of a classic Sherman-Palladino joint, which is to say that it’s a pleasure to watch… It also stands as a delightful, if occasionally chaotic, case in point,” penned Time Magazine.