Since her breakout role in J.J. Abrams sci-fi Super 8, Elle Fanning’s stock has only continued to climb. Earlier this year, she effectively wowed audiences with an intense and at times stomach-churning role in The Neon Demon, and it appears Fanning has developed a taste for dark, psychological thrillers.

That’s because, according to Deadline, Elle Fanning is now in contention for the lead role in Beware That Girl, an adaptation of Teresa Toten’s acclaimed page-turner. With echoes of Gone Girl and even The Girl on the Train – make no mistake, edge-of-your-seat thrillers are very much in vogue – Deadline cautions that those negotiations are in the very early stages and while the outlet stops short of mentioning the role Fanning is circling, we assume it’s a starring one.

For those unfamiliar with Toten’s novel, Beware That Girl follows Kate, a young scholarship student raised on a silver spoon who enrols in an elite Manhattan private school. While there, our lead develops a fiery friendship with Olivia, the “it” girl of Upper East High who hails from a “dark and mysterious past.” As the two manipulate one another, a game of cat and mouse ensues, and the introduction of a new, impossibly attractive staff member only exacerbates matters further. Brian Robbins, Matt Kaplan, Brian Duffield and Nicki Cortese are among those producing.

Little is known about the production timeline of Beware That Girl, only that the project is still in search of a director at the time of writing. Elle Fanning, on the other hand, has lined up two very different, and very intriguing, roles across Ben Affleck’s bootlegging drama Live By Night and 20th Century Women. They’ll both debut across select screens on December 25. [Source]