The Killer director David Fincher teases Michael Fassbender’s assassin in the upcoming film, and the figure shares little in common with James Bond. After 2020’s Mank, Fincher, who is best known for films like Fight Club, Zodiac, Gone Girl, and The Social Network, is re-teaming with Netflix for his upcoming film about a cold and calculating hitman. The Killer, which stars Fassbender in the titular role, chronicles the unraveling of an assassin’s life after a job gone wrong.
Now, ahead of The Killer‘s release date, Fincher teases what to expect from Fassbender’s protagonist in a recent interview with Empire. In addition to explaining how the hitman differs from 007, Fincher also shares just how the film makes use of an internal monologue. Check out Fincher’s comments below:
“He’s not James Bond. Our guy flies coach. I thought the character’s nihilism was interesting, because it was tied to his self-loathing. Then I started thinking about this inner monologue. He has this whole thing he tells himself, which is a way of demeaning his prey so he can feel better about ostensibly being a serial killer for hire. I thought that could be interesting to navigate. I like the pact a voiceover makes with the viewer. Seeing life through the eyes – and scope – of an assassin puts the audience in an interesting position. Let’s see how far they’ll go.”
Everything We Know About David Fincher’s The Killer
Fincher is known to be a very exacting director, bringing an incredibly specific vision to each shot of his films and often having actors do dozens upon dozens of takes until he gets one that he likes. It’s this approach to filmmaking that makes The Killer such an exciting prospect for the director. Fassbender’s protagonist, from what has been revealed so far in the film’s trailers, is also exacting, living his life by a strict set of rules to ensure professional precision.
As seen in the trailers, Fassbender’s character values plans and anticipation over improvisation, purusing his own selfish goals and doing it with as little empathy as possible. Clearly, however, these mantras by which the hitman lives his life start to fail him after a job goes wrong, with the character struggling to remain objective as things get personal.
While The Killer is very much focused on Fassbender’s lead character, the film also boasts a strong supporting cast, including Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell, and Kerry O’Malley, among others. The film is scheduled for a limited theatrical release on October 27 before landing on Netflix on November 10. The Killer had its premiere earlier this month at Venice Film Festival, earning mostly positive reviews from critics, with particular praise levied at Fassbender’s lead performance.
