Just weeks after the announcement of the film’s release date, Lionsgate has released the trailer for The Protégé, an upcoming thriller that pits spy vs. spy in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The movie stars Marvel staple Samuel L. Jackson, and was directed by Green Lantern filmmaker Martin Campbell. The film, about dueling assassins, will also star Maggie Q and Michael Keaton. The film is set for a release on August 20. The movie will open against Bios, a Tom Hanks film, and the Paramount/Nickelodeon joint Paw Patrol: The Movie. Featuring a script by The Equalizer 2 screenwriter Richard Wenk, the film originally known as The Asset follows two of the world’s premier assassins, Keaton’s Rembrandt and Maggie Q’s Anna, who “share a mysterious past from Vietnam.”
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With multiple potential-hit movies opening at once — especially so soon after The Suicide Squad is expected to land — it seems clear that American studios are banking on a return to relative normal at the box office by late summer 2021. How that translates to international territories is anybody’s guess, as additional waves of COVID-19 cases are causing catastophic damage in South America and India.
Keaton can next be seen in the biographical drama What Is Life Worth and Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming The Trial of the Chicago 7. Jackson recently made his eleventh feature film appearance as Nick Fury in Spider-Man: Far From Home, he’ll next be seen in Apple’s The Banker (alongside another MCU vet in Anthony Mackie) as well as the upcoming ninth Saw movie. Maggie Q recently reprised her role as Wonder Woman in the revival of Young Justice on DC Universe, she’ll next appear in the Fantasy Island reboot from Blumhouse and Universal Pictures.
You can see the official synopsis for The Protégé below.
Rescued as a child by the legendary assassin Moody (Samuel L. Jackson) and trained in the family business, Anna (Maggie Q) is the world’s most skilled contract killer. But when Moody – the man who was like a father to her and taught her everything she needs to know about trust and survival – is brutally killed, Anna vows revenge. As she becomes entangled with an enigmatic killer (Michael Keaton) whose attraction to her goes way beyond cat and mouse, their confrontation turns deadly and the loose ends of a life spent killing will weave themselves even tighter.
Directed by Martin Campbell and written by Richard Wenk, the film is produced by Arthur Sarkissian, Moshe Diamant, Rob Van Norden, Yariv Lerner, and Chris Milburn.
