Hit Man: Richard Linklater and Glen Powell’s New Movie Acquired by Netflix

Hit Man, the new film from Richard Linklater that he co-wrote with Glen Powell, has been acquired by Netflix for distribution.

Per Deadline, Netflix paid $20 million for Hit Man, which celebrated its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival before holding its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2023. The movie has so far received positive reviews from critics after playing in both festivals.

Based on a 2001 article published in Texas Monthly by Skip Hollandsworth, Hit Man stars Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) as an undercover policeman based in New Orleans who is posing as a hitman. His life is then thrown into turmoil when he becomes romantically involved with a woman, played by Adria Arjona, who wants him to kill her husband.

Austin Amelio, Retta, Sanjay Rao, Evan Holtzman, Molly Bernard, and Mike Markoff also star in Hit Man with Powell and Arjona, while Mike Blizzard, Linklater, Powell, Jason Bateman, and Michael Costigan produced the film.

Hit Man marks Powell’s first time writing a feature-length film; however, he’s collaborated with Linklater in the past. Powell played a minor role in 2006’s Fast Food Nation before he starred in 2016’s Everybody Wants Some!! and 2022’s Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood, all of which were directed by Linklater. Powell has also appeared in 2014’s The Expendables 3, 2016’s Hidden Figures, and 2022’s Devotion.

Linklater is additionally known for making 1990’s Slacker, 1993’s Dazed and Confused, the Before trilogy (1995’s Before Sunrise, 2004’s Before Sunset, and 2012’s Before Midnight), 2001’s Waking Life, 2003’s School of Rock, and 2014’s Boyhood, among others.

A streaming release date for Hit Man has not yet been set, though Deadline’s report mentions a theatrical component may be included in Netflix’s deal.