Cara Delevingne to play Shailene Woodley's lover in biopic about gay writer Patricia Highsmith

Shailene Woodley and Cara Delevingne are set to costar in a horror-tinged biopic centered on the life of the legendary thriller author Patricia Highsmith.

According to Deadline, Delevingne — who has previously labeled herself bisexual — will star as a lover to Highsmith.

Their relationship, which will be featured in The Murderous Miss Highsmith, was one of two romances Highsmith carried on with other women that reportedly inspired one of her most successful novels, The Talented Mr. Ripley.

The film will be directed by Alexandra Pechman, who will be making her feature directorial debut with the project.

Woodley — who will next be seen in a sci-fi rom-com — stars as Highsmith, who died in 1995 at 74.

Leading ladies: Cara Delevingne stars in The Murderous Miss Highsmith as the lover of the writer Patricia Highsmith, Deadline reported on Thursday. Shailene Woodley will play the legendary Talented Mr. Ripley scribe

Graphic: The feature will examine the author's frame of mind and attempt to expand on how her penchant for violent crime brought her inspiration for her novels; Highsmith is seen in 1970 

The feature will examine the author's frame of mind and attempt to expand on how her penchant for violent crime brought her inspiration for her novels. 

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire star Noémie Merlant will costar with Woodley as the other woman she had a relationship with in the 1950s before penning the hit thriller.

Production on the feature will commence in Italy this fall.

Cara previously revealed to Vogue in March that she spent part of December and January in rehab after seeing photos published exclusively by DailyMail.com of her disheveled state after attending Burning Man prompted her to get help.

'I've had interventions of a sort, but I wasn't ready. That's the problem,' she explained.

'I hadn't seen a therapist in three years. I just kind of pushed everyone away, which made me realize how much I was in a bad place.'

She also admitted that she had previously sought quick fixes for her substance abuse issues, but now that she was focused on the 12 step program it was easier to commit to sobriety.

'Before I was always into the quick fix of healing, going to a weeklong retreat or to a course for trauma, say, and that helped for a minute, but it didn’t ever really get to the nitty-gritty, the deeper stuff,' she said. 

But as she puts her struggles behind her, the model is looking to revive her career, starting with her latest major role in the Highsmith biopic.

The author, who suffered from an alcohol addiction throughout much of her life, published her first novel, Strangers On A Train, in 1950, and Alfred Hitchcock directed a classic film of the story the following year, which helped to cement Highsmith as a top writer of literary thrillers. 

On the upswing: The film is a career comeback for Delevingne, who checked herself into rehab late last year after seeing photos published exclusively by DailyMail.com of herself looking disheveled and apparently on drugs after Burning Man; seen May 1 in NYC

Mystery woman: Highsmith was an acclaimed writer of thrillers and literary fiction. Though she had relationships with men, she is considered a lesbian writer; seen in 1993

Two years later, she published The Price Of Salt under a pseudonym. 

The novel, later reprinted as Carol under her own name, and posthumously adapted into an acclaimed film starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, detailed a doomed lesbian romance that was inspired by Highsmith's own life.

Several of her other novels have also been adapted for the screen, including Deep Water, which was made into a film last year starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, and her Ripley novels, which have spawned multiple adaptations, including the 1999 film starring Matt Damon. 

Although Highsmith did have relationships with men, she is often described as a lesbian, as her romances with women were reportedly much more fulfilling.

The writer, who had a reputation as a misanthrope, cycled through romances and apparently only stayed with partners for a few years at most. 

'This is such a unique way to explore someone’s legacy, while implementing their world into their life story. The script goes from idyllic Italian settings to gruesome murder fantasies with a strong inspiration from her work,' said the Paris-based production company Memento in a statement.

'This is a new take to the biopic genre that will definitely leave a mark on the audience,' it added.

The Murderous Miss Highsmith's release date has not been announced yet.

Although she is busy prepping for the title role in the feature, Woodley is also set to star in Robots.

French star: The film is about two of Highsmith's relationships with women that inspired The Talented Mr. Ripley, with Noémie Merlant playing the other woman; pictured in September in Venice

The actress will appear alongside Jack Whitehall in the feature, which is based on Robert Sheckley's 1973 short story The Robot Who Looked Like Me.

The movie is centered on a pair of individuals whose robotic duplicates fall in love and team up to find their lifelike doubles.

Emma Roberts was initially set to star in the movie, although she was replaced by Woodley in June of 2021.

Robots is currently scheduled to be released both in theaters and on demand on May 19.

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