Justin Theroux replaces Chris Evans in The Girl On The Train

The Leftovers star Justin Theroux has come aboard upcoming thriller The Girl On The Train, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The role, which was originally going to be played by Chris Evans, has been left vacant since the Avengers Assemble star had to pull out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.

The film, based on the Paula Hawkins' novel of the same name, will centre on divorced alcoholic Rachel Watson. A woman who commutes to London every day, to keep up the illusion that she has a job to go to – just so her housemate doesn't realise that she has been unemployed for the past few months.

During her repetitive journey, she becomes obsessed with a couple that she sees every day as the train passes their home and begins dreaming about their lives and trying to find out more about them.

But one day, things take a bizarre turn after she thinks that she witnesses a murder and soon becomes entangled in the ensuing investigation, as she tries to figure out what really happened or whether it's all just a figment of her fantasies.

Sicario's Emily Blunt will be playing Rachel, while Mission: Impossible 5's Rebecca Ferguson will play rival Anna, the former mistress and then wife of Rachel's ex-husband Tom, played by Theroux. Music And Lyrics star Haley Bennett and Suicide Squad's Jared Leto have also been cast as the couple that Rachel spies on.

Tate Taylor (The Help) is directing the adaptation, while Chloe, and Men, Women & Children screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson will be writing the script. DreamWorks acquired the rights to make a film from the book, even before it was published in January 2015. Dubbed as the next Gone Girl, the film version will take place in the US despite the novel being set in the UK, and is due to be released on 7 October 2016.

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