CJ Perry’s debut novel is headed for the big screen. The former WWE star said on TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast that a film adaptation of Bulletproof Angel is already in development, with a director lined up and her husband Rusev pitched to play one of the villains.
“It is going to be made into a movie,” Perry said. “We’re already in the works.”
Perry, who appeared on the episode alongside Rusev, said the team has started packaging the project and described it as a “James Bond spy thriller” built around female leads. She wouldn’t name the director, but said she’s excited about the pick.
Perry Plans To Produce, Not Star
Despite her own acting background, Perry told TMZ she wants a bigger-name actress in the lead role while she works as a producer. She didn’t rule out slipping in a cameo.
Perry said she and co-author Blake Northcott have talked about bringing Rusev in as a villain, and that Northcott floated the idea before Perry could pitch it herself. No casting has been announced, and Rusev said he was hearing about it for the first time on air.
The role would keep the project in the family. Rusev already backed the book in print, calling it “exceptional espionage” in a blurb on the novel’s retail listing.
The movie update lands three days after the couple announced they are expecting their first child, a baby boy due in April 2027.
A Book Built For Film From Day One
A screen adaptation was the plan from the start. In July 2025, Deadline reported that Bulletproof Angel would launch Paradigm’s new book-to-film initiative through The Sports Group, pairing Perry with bestselling author and screenwriter Blake Northcott. Perry, who is under a WWE Legends deal, told Deadline at the time: “I’ve always been drawn to stories of espionage, betrayal, and resilience, and building a world around two powerful female operatives was a dream.”
The novel follows CIA spy Reagan Ashe and her estranged mother, a retired operative. In Perry’s telling, the daughter goes undercover as a model while dating a Russian mafia boss, the mission goes sideways, and her mother is forced to step in and save her.
BenBella Books, distributed by Simon & Schuster, releases the novel on November 10. Perry will hold a release-day signing at Barnes & Noble at The Grove in Los Angeles, and an audiobook narrated by Erin Moon is also set for release.
