(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Blake Lively is set to play Carrie Bradshaw in a prequel to the Sex and the City series.

The actress, who shot to fame playing New York socialite Serena van der Woodsen in American television series Gossip Girl, has been linked with the role made famous by Sarah Jessica Parker.

The film is tentatively called The Carrie Diaries and will chart Carrie through her teenage years and her initial move to New York. Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell has penned the book the movie is based on, and it is thought it will breathe new life into the franchise.

With the second Sex and the City movie film attracting disappointing reviews, writer-and-director Michael Patrick King believes the twist in the familiar format is what the show needs.

There are no plans to bring SJP and the other girls back together in the old format. The prequel is about breathing new life into the story and exploring Carries first few months in NYC and the beginning of her relationship with an older man, a source revealed.

Sex and the City charts the lives and loves of Carrie and her friends Samantha Jones, Miranda Hobbes and Charlotte York Goldenblatt. (C) Cover Media