Glen Powell has been a busy guy the past few years thanks to the industry-saving Top Gun: Maverick, his rom-com Anyone But You racking up more than $100 million at the box office, and those talks of Top Gun 3. But before the in-demand actor straps into a jet again, he’ll take his talents to the streaming world with the upcoming Netflix movie, Hit Man.
The new action comedy, which will see Powell re-team with Richard Linklater for the third time, will be here before you know it, and we have some details you don’t want to miss. From its release date to its trailer and the unbelievable true story on which it is based, here’s everything we know about Hit Man.
What Is The Hit Man Release Date?
Anyone with a Netflix subscription can check out Hit Man for themselves when the new Glen Powell movie is released on June 7th, but that isn’t the only way to give the action comedy a spin. According to Vanity Fair, Netflix is also giving the film a brief theatrical release at some point before that. There hasn’t been any word on how long Hit Man will be on the big screen or how many markets will receive it, but expect to hear more in the coming weeks and months.
Glen Powell And Adria Arjona Lead The Hit Man Cast
When Hit Man makes its streaming (and theatrical) debut this summer, it will bring together a talented cast that is anchored by Glen Powell, who will be taking on the role of Gary Johnson, a college professor with a new line of work. According to Netflix Tudum, Powell will be joined at the top of the cast list by Adria Arjona, who will be taking on the role of a woman in crisis named Madison.
In addition to those two, the movie will also feature performances by The Walking Dead’s Austin Amelio, Parks and Recreation cast member Retta, The Flight Attendant’s Sanjay Rao, Chicago Med star Molly Bernard, and Hidden Figures’ Evan Holtzman, though their characters have not yet been disclosed.
The Hit Man Teaser Is Full Of Mystery, Intrigue, And Pie
We don’t yet have a full Hit Man trailer going into the finer details of its plot and the character that will be navigating its world, but Netflix has released a quick teaser to get everyone excited in the meantime. In late January 2024, the streaming giant gave everyone a quick look at Richard Linklater’s upcoming movie, and it is full of mystery, intrigue, and pie:
In addition to seeing Glen Powell sitting at a diner table saying “all pie is good pie” while staring into Adria Arjona’s eyes, the one-minute teaser also features some intriguing snippets of his character firing guns, wearing various costumes, and looking cool as hell in the process. If the rest of the movie is this good, we’re in for a ride. When the full trailer does eventually arrive, we’ll for sure be breaking it down, even if it doesn’t go as hard on the pie.
Hit Man Follows A College Professor Posing As A Contract Killer
Okay, an action movie with a dark sense of humor about a hitman on Netflix sounds a lot like David Fincher’s The Killer, but hear us out, as Linklater’s new movie looks and sounds completely different. Instead of following a contract killer obsessed, like totally obsessed, with The Smiths and positive affirmations, Hit Man follows a college professor who’s only posing as a paid assassin to bring people to justice.
However, based on what Netflix has said about the movie, there could be some similarities between the two, as the Glen Powell flick will reportedly deal with cause and effect when the “killer” gets in way over his head. This one sounds like it’s going to get out of hand…
Hit Man Is Based On A 2001 Texas Monthly Article Of The Same Name
There are a lot of upcoming book-to-screen adaptations to look forward to in 2024, and Hit Man loosely falls into that category. The upcoming movie is based on Skip Hollandsworth’s 2001 Texas Monthly article of the same name, a lengthy true crime saga about a seemingly normal college professor from Houston, Texas, who worked with police to nab more than 60 people seeking to hire a hitman to take out spouses and bosses.
When speaking with Deadline ahead of the film’s September 2023 premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Richard Linklater revealed he had known about the article for years but was having trouble adapting it until a conversation with Powell changed everything:
I told him the problem with it was that it’s really just the same thing throughout: Gary Johnson going out and catching people. Not much drama happens. But I give him credit for saying, ‘What if we loosen up the facts?’ I’ve always been such a stickler for the facts; telling real stories exactly as they happened. Loosening up turned it into this fun thing with a fun character at the center of it.
"Loosening up" the adaptation also allowed the Dazed and Confused director, who has a ton of films set in Texas, to have more fun with the story, especially when it comes to the whole “masquerading as a hitman” idea.
Richard Linklater Directed Hit Man And Co-Wrote The Script With Glen Powell
Before making Hit Man, Richard Linklater directed two movies starring Glen Powell – Everybody Wants Some!! and Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood – but unlike that pair of films, his latest feature is also co-written by the Hollywood leading man. In the Deadline interview mentioned above, Linklater revealed that he initially started writing the script on his own, but after talking with Powell several times, he decided to send him to some pages to make changes. The rest is history, and now they share a writing credit for the film.
We can expect to hear more about Hit Man as we get closer to the film’s release later in the 2024 movie schedule. As for Linklater’s long-in-the-works adaptation of Merrily We Go Along, it will be more than a decade before we see that come to fruition.
