The Killer: Netflix Release Date, Cast, and Everything We Know So Far

Netflix’s upcoming noir thriller The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton, is headed to Netflix in November 2023. After being in passive development for over a decade, Netflix acquired the rights to the film from Paramount with David Fincher directing. Here’s everything you need to know.

Netflix’s The Killer will be directed by Golden Globes winner and Oscar nominee David Fincher, who is known for such critically acclaimed hits as Gone Girl, Mank, The Social Network, Zodiac, Se7en, and many more.

Fincher has reunited with Se7en writer Andrew Kevin Walker for The Killer. Walker also wrote the Oscar-winning The Wolfman and the 1999 film Sleepy Hollow, starring Johnny Depp. Ceán Chaffin, Fincher’s longtime producing partner, is producing.

Although Fincher had been working with Netflix almost exclusively for the past five years, he officially tied the knot with a four-year deal back in November 2020. Fincher has been involved with some of the biggest Netflix projects of the past decade, involving Mank, Love Death & Robots, House of Cards, and Mindhunter.

The production companies working on the project include Panic Pictures, Archaia Entertainment, and BOOM! Studios.

Also involved in The Killer will be Erik Messerschmidt, who will serve as the cinematographer.

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When will The Killer be released on Netflix?

As part of the 2023 movie slate reveal in January 2023, Netflix confirmed that The Killer will be released globally on November 10, 2023. 

Ahead of its Netflix release, the movie will have its world premiere (and compete) at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. That event is taking place between August 30th and September 9th, 2023.

The movie will also be screened in select theaters worldwide starting on October 27th.

Via The Fincher Analyst, here’s the official poster for the movie:

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What is the plot of Netflix’s The Killer?

Netflix’s The Killer is based on the French graphic novel of the same name by author Alexis Nolent, under the pen name Matz, and artist Luc Jacamon. The first volume was published in 1998 and the latest was in 2017. It is yet unknown which parts of the graphic novel will be adapted into the movie, so hopefully, there is a chance for sequels, provided The Killer turns out to be a success.

Here is the official logline for Netflix’s The Killer:

“A man solitary and cold, methodical and unencumbered by scruples or regrets, the killer waits in the shadows, watching for his next target. And yet the longer he waits, the more he thinks he’s losing his mind, if not his cool. A brutal, bloody and stylish noir story of a professional assassin lost in a world without a moral compass, this is a case study of a man alone, armed to the teeth and slowly losing his mind.”

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Who is cast in The Killer?

Netflix’s The Killer will be led by Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Michael Fassbender, who is known for his many projects like X-Men, 12 Years a Slave, Steve Jobs, Macbeth, and more. Fassbender will play the role of the titular killer, who develops a conscience during the movie. At one point, the role was reportedly attached to Brad Pitt.

Tilda Swinton was subsequently confirmed to be in the cast. The actress is known for titles like Snowpiercer, The French Dispatch, Marvel’s Doctor Strange, and Netflix’s Okja.

Charles Parnell (will play Hodges), Arliss Howard, and Sophie Charlotte (will play Magdala) round out the main cast.

Emiliano Pernía, Kerry O’Malley, and Gabriel Polanco are also confirmed to be in the movie’s cast.

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When and where did Netflix’s The Killer film?

Originally we were told the movie was set to enter production in September 2021, but then we learned that things have shifted back slightly, with production starting on November 1st, 2021.

The globe-trotting movie will be filmed across multiple continents and countries, with the current list of filming locations set to include:

• New Orleans, United States
• Dominican Republic
• Chicago, United States
• Paris, France

Filming reportedly took place in late November in Santo Domingo.

According to one Tweet, production wrapped in France at the end of January 2022.

According to a new ProductionWeekly listing, they state that the Louisiana unit for The Killer will operate from December 14th, 2021 through February 14th, 2022.

According to Screen Magazine, the movie moved its production to Chicago in February 2022. Their report states that filming took place, in part, at Union Station in downtown Chicago, the River West neighborhood near Chicago Avenue, the Bucktown neighborhood near Fullerton and Western, and Halsted Street. They state that production will continue until March 17th, 2022, when all production is expected to end, and the movie moves into post-production.

We got our first real look behind the scenes at the new movie via a segment on “Michael Fassbender: Road to Le Mans,” available on Porche’s YouTube channel. The video is mostly about the actors journey with racing but gives us our best look at the behind-the-scenes of The Killer yet.

We got around 2 minutes of insight on the movie, with Fassbender saying it was a “great privilege and honor” to star in the upcoming David Fincher, adding that it was “a dream come true.”

“With somebody of David’s calibre it was a very special opportunity for me. Quite a few locations over a five month period.” – Michael Fassbender

10 days after the initial expected filming end date for The Killer, Dwayne Barr (who is working on the production) stated that filming had wrapped on Instagram, adding:

“And so it ends….We wrapped David Fincher’s “The Killer” last night. Thank you @emesserschmidt for the wrap gift. Too tired to express everything I desire to share. Kudos to Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton.”

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Elsewhere, David Fincher is still expected to bring Chinatown to Netflix, serving as a prequel to the 1974 film of the same name. Netflix is also working on a number of other BOOM Studios! adaptations too.