A one-of-a-kind American assassin possessed of savage skills and a ferocious drive for payback
is born in this non-stop action-espionage thriller rooted in the raw reality of today’s hard-to-detect
enemies invisible black ops, high-level surveillance, portable nukes and murky agendas. This is
the story of a 21st Century counterterrorist spymaster-in-the-making who, in a world of new rules,
breaks all the old molds. But much as we’re in the midst of a new era of bold individualists, this
is also a story of far-flung global agents discovering what truly matters: working together for the
greater good.
Based on the mega-bestselling book series by the late Vince Flynn, “American Assassin” introduces
film audiences to one of contemporary fiction’s most popular heroes working in the shadows: CIA
super-agent Mitch Rapp. When Rapp’s promising future is torn apart by a shocking burst of violence,
it ignites his career as a clandestine warrior on the frontlines of the Age of Terror. Now he must
discover how to turn his blistering rage into fuel for hunting those who would destroy others’ dreams
– in a world where clarity isn’t easy to come by.
The story takes off with propulsive speed, with one white-knuckle action sequence topping the last,
brought to life by a team of filmmakers who know the territory: director Michael Cuesta (“Homeland”),
screenwriters Stephen Schiff (“The Americans”), Michael Finch (“The November Man”), Edward
Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz (“The Last Samurai,” “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back”) and producers
Lorenzo di Bonaventura (“Salt,” “RED”) and Nick Wechsler (“The Road,” “Under The Skin”). Cuesta
creates the film as a rough but riveting transcontinental journey that careens from Washington D.C.
to Istanbul to Rome to the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier…and right into the moral gray zones of our
world in 2017.
Says Cuesta: “This is the origin story of Mitch Rapp – as he transforms from a man seeking personal
vengeance to a professional who operates with a fierce sense of justice. I’m excited to have fans of
the books and everyone else get to see Dylan O’Brien become Mitch. Dylan has a very contemporary
appeal as an action star for this millennia, and I think audiences are going to love his interaction with
Michael Keaton who nails Hurley’s tough-guy persona like a 21st Century John Wayne.”
They found what they were seeking in 25 year-old Dylan O’Brien, who has never tackled a role like
this one before. It was O’Brien’s turn as the maze-escaping Thomas in the hit dystopian series “The
Maze Runner” that convinced them he had the blend of gutsiness and self-driven confidence to
embody Rapp as a haunted young man.
O’Brien loved the idea of taking the audience on a journey into how a current-day intelligence
operative is created via a blend of personal psychology, breakneck training and the sink-or-swim
hazards of early missions. “What’s cool about “American Assassin” is that you get to see where
Mitch Rapp started and you get to follow his personal path into this world of the CIA, driven by his
own urge for vengeance that he has to learn to control,” says O’Brien. “When I started talking to guys
who work for the CIA, I discovered that often they have similar kinds of stories, where some dark,
harsh experience set them down the road of becoming an agent; and often that story still drives
them to this day.”
Taking the role of a man considered to be one of the most feared officers in the CIA is Michael Keaton.
Keaton is already renown for his versatility – in roles that range from “Nightshift,” “Mr. Mom” and
“Batman” to the Oscar®-winning films “Birdman” and “Spotlight” to the recent superhero hit “Spider-
Man: Homecoming” – but Hurley is the most steely hard-ass he’s yet portrayed.
The filmmakers were thrilled to see Keaton take on a tough-talking, cynical, physically volatile
character who goes through a gauntlet in the course of the film. “Michael has created so many
notable and acclaimed performances, but this is a type of role we’ve not really seen Michael do
before so it’s exciting,” says Nick Wechsler. “We wanted Hurley to be much more than a rubber
