After starring in hits like Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You, Glen Powell is set to return to the screen with the upcoming romantic action comedy film Hit Man. The film, which had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, received critical acclaim. It is now set to release on the streaming platform Netflix in the coming weeks followed by its limited theatrical run.
While the film was finally acquired by the streaming giant and landed a limited theatrical release, the journey to the silver screen was not without challenges as the director of the film Richard Linklater has recently revealed that despite its positive reception, the studios seemed skeptical of acquiring the movie.
Glen Powell’s Hit Man Faced Skepticism Despite Positive Reception
In a recent conversation with Texas Monthly, filmmaker Richard Linklater shared how his new film, starring Glen Powell and Adria Arjona, faced skepticism from the studios despite receiving an overwhelming response following its world premiere.
While addressing that Netflix acquired the movie for $20 million, he shared that any other studio could have bought the film, but they chose to overlook it. “The studios could have had it,” he said before adding,
But despite the overwhelming audience and critical response, they just acted like they weren’t totally convinced. It’s a weird time in our industry—not as good as it once was, put it like that.
However, unlike studios, the streaming giant Netflix emerged as the film’s savior with an enthusiastic commitment to the project. “Netflix was the company that stepped up with the right attitude, like, “Hey, we love this film, and we want to make sure everybody sees it,” Linklater said.
Last week, the film was released in select theatres and is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on June 7, 2024. Linklater expressed his hopes for people to see the film in theatres. However, he also noted the downside of a limited theatrical release, saying,
I also know that by the time a lot of them hear about the movie, it will be out of theaters.
Hit Man follows a professor who discovers a talent for posing as a fake hitman in undercover police stings. However, things take an unexpected turn after he falls for a woman, who hires him to kill her husband, and gets entangled in her deadly scheme.
Glen Powell on Navigating Hollywood’s Rejection of Hit Man
Along with starring in the movie, Glen Powell has significantly contributed to the film’s screenplay as well. Filmmaker Richard Linklater has shared how Powell reached out to him about the Texas Monthly article that the film is based on.
In a conversation with Collider, the Devotion star also reflected on the rejections the film received from the industry. He shared that they were quite optimistic about the film and were surprised after facing several rejections.
“We actually took this thing out, and everybody said no,” he said before adding, “We were kind of confused because we thought, ‘This movie is awesome; we loved writing it.'” However, the challenges taught him the importance of trusting his instincts, even in the face of industry uncertainty.
Hit Man is playing in selected theatres and will premiere on Netflix on June 7, 2024.
