Michael Keaton has agreed to star in American Assassin, CBS Films and Lionsgate’s adaptation of Vince Flynn’s novel.
Keaton will not be playing the main character, CIA counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp, notes Deadline. Instead, the actor has been cast as Stan Hurley, a Cold War veteran and mentor for Rapp.
With dreams of turning this into a franchise, the first film will start with Rapp losing his fiancee in a terrorist attack. Hurley is picked to train him and their first job is stopping World War III from starting in the Middle East. Flynn, who died in 2013, wrote 14 Rapp novels.
The film will be directed by Michael Cuesta (Homeland, Kill The Messenger) and written by Stephen Schiff (The Americans, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps). The producers are Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Nick Wechsler.
“To have an actor as intelligent and gifted as Michael Keaton bring this beloved character to life is a thrill for everyone involved in American Assassin and a cause for celebration amongst Hurley fans the world over,” Cuesta told The Hollywood Reporter.
Keaton has starred in the previous two Best Picture winners, Birdman and Spotlight and earned a Best Actor nomination for Birdman. His next film is The Founder, which is scheduled for Aug. 5.