EXCLUSIVE: Netflix and AGBO’s adaptation of the Alex North novel The Whisper Man isn’t done adding star power to it’s ensemble as sources tell Deadline Michael Keaton is set to join the ensemble of the feature adaptation of the pic starring Robert De Niro. John Carroll Lynch, Hamish Linklater, Owen Teague and Acston Luca Porto are also on board joining De Niro as well as Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan. While sources stress it falls under a cameo credit, the idea of the two legendary heavyweights appearing in a movie together for the first time since Jackie Brown should excite fans of both actors.
James Ashcroft is set to direct, with Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer adapting the script. Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Angela Russo-Otstot and Michael Disco will produce for AGBO, marking the sixth film out of Netflix and AGBO’s ongoing partnership.
Based on North’s New York Times bestselling novel, The Whisper Man revolves around a widow crime writer who, after his 8-year-old son is abducted, looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as “The Whisper Man.”
Kassee Whiting will exec produce for AGBO as will Marcus Viscidi. Production is set to start this spring on the East Coast.
Keaton is coming off a big year where he reprised his iconic role of Beetlejuice in the hit sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and went on to make $452 million at the worldwide box-office. Keaton also starred in the dramedy Goodrich opposite Mila Kunis. He also won his first Emmy for his critically-acclaimed role in Hulu’s Dopesick. Keaton is repped by CAA.
Teague most recently starred in 20th century’s latest installment in the Planet of the Apes franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. He also recently starred in the A24 pic You Hurt My Feelings. He is repped by CAA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Linklater was most recently seen in the Amazon MGM Studios pic Nickel Boys and can be seen next in the next season of the Amazon series Gen V. He is repped by Untitled Entertainment, Gersh and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
AGBO and the Russo brothers continue their successful partnership with Netflix following 2019’s Mosul with the 2020 release of Chris Hemsworth starrer Extraction, the 2022 release of the Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans starrer The Gray Man (No. 7 on Netflix’s all-time most popular film list), and the 2023 release of Extraction 2. All three reached the Netflix Top 10 list in 93 countries.
The studio recently released The Electric State for Netflix which premiered as #1 film on the platform and wrapped The Bluff for Amazon MGM, and Citadel Season 2 is currently in post-production. AGBO is also producing Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027) with Marvel, with the Russo Brothers set to direct.