Is Jennifer Lopez the next ‘Jason Bourne’-style action hero?

Jennifer Lopez is about to appear on Netflix as an action hero, and the director hopes she will come off as a Jason Bourne or James Bond-style character.

JLo’s latest film, ‘The Mother’, written by Misha Green and Andrea Berloff, will be released on Netflix on May 12.

Looking for an action star

‘The Mother’ director, Niki Caro, said he was immediately taken with the script, and wanted to flesh out the lead character with a strong female who had empathy — but also serious action potential.

“It was wall to wall action, there was almost no dialogue, and it was one of the best things I’d ever read,” Caro told Inverse. “It had that scope, which I really loved — but also at the heart of it, it’s a love letter from a mother to a child.

“It [has] the potential to be a really big global action thriller á la Bond or Bourne,” the director added, elaborating that the role, though female, should have the same kind of appeal as the classic, strong-man hero. The director even sees the potential for franchising.

“My pure focus with Jennifer in this film was, with her, to put the action in this movie right up there,” Caro explained.

Intense combat scenes

The movie is about a reclusive combat veteran who comes out of hiding to find her daughter, who has been kidnapped by a cartel she has history with.

Lopez is reportedly dangerous and exciting in the role, and performs intense combat scenes and fast chases.

Caro said that JLo was the first person he thought of for the lead role, though it is unlike most of her previous work. However, the movie is also meant to explore a more feminine aspect of life, that of the maternal instinct.

The role of the mother

Caro describes motherhood as “a primal protective force”, and seeks to demonstrate that in the film.

“She’s not a nurturer; she’s a mother,” Caro declared, “as a wolf is a mother to its cubs.

“[I want] to remind the world how great of a dramatic actress she is. Every piece of action in this movie is motivated by character, [and] the very real motivation of a mother protecting her child. I think some of those scenes are as heart-stopping emotionally as the action is sort of thrilling.

“In those dramatic scenes with Lucy, the stakes are really high. Jennifer is such an iconic hero to so many generations of people, and Lucy’s big superstar crush. But Lucy could sit across from her in a screen test and let all of that go and work with her as a child and a mother … It just felt like these two clicked in a really magic way.”