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Gossip Girl star Blake Lively is getting herself into some real drama. This time, it won’t be of the high society variety, it will be as part of the ensemble cast of director Ben Affleck’s The Town. She joins Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall and The Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner in a thriller that is an adaptation of Chuck Hogan’s novel “Prince of Thieves.”

The story revolves around a bank manager (Rebecca Hall), a career criminal (Affleck) who stole more than her heart, and an FBI agent (Hamm) dedicated to bringing him and his gang to justice. Jeremy Renner plays a member of his gang. Lively will fit in as Renner’s sister, a crazy ex-girlfriend of the gang leader played by Affleck.

That’s an interesting role for Lively, who has played the party-happy Serena on Gossip Girl, but has never done anything described as “troubled,” as is this role. Should make for an interesting part. As for the rest of the film, color me excited. Affleck as a director was good in my book with Gone Baby Gone, and another Boston-set cop drama sounds like just the ticket to keep his success rolling. That, and he’s assembled himself a damn fine young cast, has he not?

The Town begins shooting next month in Boston.