Richard Linklater‘s latest movie, Hitman, has begun production. Joining leads Glen Powell and Adria Arjona in the film are three new additions to the cast; Retta, Austin Amelio, and Molly Bernard.
Deadline reports that filming on the action comedy has commenced in New Orleans. Based on a non-fiction Texas Monthly article by Skip Hollandsworth, the film centers around the most in-demand hired killer in New Orleans (Powell), who’s secretly working as an informant for the police. However, he gets into trouble when he disrupts an operation to help a woman (Arjona) escape from an abusive relationship. He finds himself falling for her and living the life of one of his false identities, taking on an actual life of crime. A Hollandsworth article was also the basis for Linklater’s Jack Black black-comedy Bernie.
Comedian Retta broke out playing Donna Meagle on long-running sitcom Parks and Recreation; she subsequently starred on Bravo’s Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce and the recently-concluded NBC crime dramedy Good Girls. She currently hosts Ugliest House in America on HGTV. Amelio is best-known for playing Dwight on AMC’s The Walking Dead and its spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead; he also starred in Everybody Wants Some!!, which was also directed by Linklater and starred Powell.
Bernard starred in the Sutton Foster dramedy Younger, and recurred on Transparent and Chicago Med; she can next be seen in the murder mystery Best Man Dead Man. Powell, who is a frequent Linklater collaborator, starred in this summer’s mega-hit Top Gun: Maverick: He can next be seen in this fall’s Korean War drama Devotion alongside Jonathan Majors. Arjona has had a busy year, starring in the vampiric misfire Morbius, Warner Brothers’ remake of Father of the Bride, the HBO miniseries Irma Vep, and the Star Wars series Andor. She can next be seen in Zoë Kravitz‘ directorial debut Pussy Island. The Texas-based Linklater is a prolific filmmaker; his filmography includes Dazed and Confused, the Before trilogy, and Boyhood. His most recent film, Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood, was released this year.
Hitman was written by Linklater and Powell, and will be produced by Linklater and Michael Blizzard for Detour Pictures, Michael Costigan and Jason Bateman for Aggregate Films, and Powell for BarnStorm Productions in association with Cinetic Media. It will be co-financed by ShivHans Pictures and Monarch Media. Distribution will be handled by ACG Studios.
Filming on Hitman is now underway; stay tuned to Collider for future updates.