Lucy Hale Preparing For Life After ‘Pretty Little Liars’ With New Movie

Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale may be hard at work for the upcoming season of the hit ABC Family show, but she’s also been working on other projects — as well as spending time with her boyfriend — during her time away from the cameras.

The project Lucy Hale has agreed to take on is Dude, an indie movie with a large ensemble cast. Set to be released in 2016, the movie is about the trials and tribulations of four women entering the final weeks of their high school life.

If this sounds like a familiar subplot, it is. The show is reminiscent of Pretty Little Liars in that Dude has a strong group of women at its heart. While initial reports consider the movie to have a dark undertone, the big difference is there isn’t an evil villain lurking around every corner trying to harm Lucy Hale and her fellow actresses, Bustle reported.

Beyond Lucy Hale, Dude will have some star-power among its cast. The Movie Network reported that Alexandra Shipp will be the fourth female member of the cast as she joins Lucy, Kathryn Prescott, and Nora “Awkwafina” Lum.

Olivia Milch, who wrote the script for Dude, has also signed on to direct the movie, according to another recent article by the Movie Network. Milch has become an in-demand writer as she has been tapped to write a new adaption of Little Women for Sony and a female version of Ocean’s 11.

Hale was tapped as the first actress to join the film, showing her appeal to Olivia in her directing debut. Lucy has appeared on the big screen before, joining the cast of Scream 4 and A Cinderella Story in 2011.

In addition to the movie, Hale has spent time with boyfriend Anthony Kalabretta. Lucy has used her Instagram account to share some more personal photos with fans of herself and Kalabretta in recent days.

Hale and her Pretty Little Liars cast members have been busy preparing for the winter portion of Season 6. The mid-season finale revealed the true identity of “A.” As CeCe Drake (Vanessa Ray) emerged as the villainous character that has haunted the girls from Rosewood, fans expressed their anger of the decision to name her as Charles/Charlotte DiLaurentis.

After the controversial ending, Pretty Little Liars will undergo a five-year time jump in the next episode. The move was made to help Lucy Hale and her fellow actresses play roles closer to their own age.

Fans had their first glimpse of Lucy as a grown-up on the show at New York Comic-Con when Pretty Little Liars unveiled the first four minutes of the upcoming episode. Hale can also been seen portraying an older figure in the latest trailer to tease the remainder of the Season 6 shows.

Pretty Little Liars viewers have scoured the internet for spoilers from the second half of the season, which begins airing on January 12, 2016. The focus of the initial spoilers has not singled out Lucy Hale, as we find out a character is getting married and another character is returning to Rosewood.

Dude may not be the only movie in the near future for Lucy Hale. Pretty Little Liars showrunner I. Marlene King has hinted that a movie based on the show may be in the works. The movie, however, would have to wait until the TV series is over, leaving rumors that next season will be the show’s last appearing to have some truth behind them.

Are you looking forward to the upcoming projects featuring Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images]