As reported by Deadline, Michael Keaton has been cast in American Assassin, an adaptation of Vince Flynn’s thriller novel of the same name. Keaton will be playing Stan Hurley, “a badass Cold War veteran” who teaches the American assassin from the title—a covert CIA operative named Mitch Rapp—how to kill people. The Mitch Rapp character appears in a staggering 14 novels by Flynn (who died in 2013), and American Assassin involves him embarking on a vengeance-fueled quest to prevent World War III after his fiancée is killed in a terrorist attack.
Rapp himself has yet to be cast, but Deadline says “the actor will be young,” so it sounds like Keaton will be carrying a fair share of the weight. Luckily, Keaton’s recent career revival has reminded everyone that he’s awesome, so he shouldn’t have any trouble keeping up with what the studio is probably hoping will become a Bourne-like action series.
American Assassin is being directed by Kill The Messenger‘s Michael Cuesta, who also worked on a bunch of Homeland episodes.