Dylan O’Brien in talks to star in American Assassin with Michael Keaton

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Per Deadline, THE MAZE RUNNER star Dylan O'Brien is currently in talks to star in AMERICAN ASSASSIN, an action-thriller based upon the Vince Flynn novel of the same name. "American Assassin" is one of many novels Vince Flynn wrote following the adventures of a young assassin by the name of Mitch Rapp who carries out covert ops for the CIA, so CBS Films is hoping is that AMERICAN ASSASSIN will be the first of a long franchise.

Dylan O'Brien would play Mitch Rapp alongside the already cast Michael Keaton, who will be playing the role of Stan Hurley, a "badass Cold War veteran who teaches the young assassin everything he needs to know." Mitch Rapp will be college-aged in the first film, and the hope is that the actor will grow along with his character as the AMERICAN ASSASSIN series progresses. Several months ago Dylan O'Brien was severely injured on the set of MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE leading a delay and later shutdown of production while they wait for his injuries to heal. Production on AMERICAN ASSASSIN is set to kick off this fall, so it's nice to know that O'Brien will have recovered from his injuries by then. AMERICAN ASSASSIN will begin as Mitch Rapp is devastated by the loss of his fiancee in a terrorist attack. The CIA deputy director then assigns the "shadowy" Stan Hurley to train the "grief-stricken but highly motivated Rapp how to thwart terrorist operations and hunt the perpetrators."

A synopsis of "American Assassin" via Amazon:

Two decades after the Cold War, Islamic terrorism is on the rise, and CIA Operations Director Thomas Stansfield forms a new group of clandestine operatives—men who do not exist—to meet this burgeoning threat abroad before it reaches America’s shores. Stansfield’s protégée, Irene Kennedy, finds the ideal candidate in the wake of the Pan Am Lockerbie terrorist attack. Among the thousands grieving the victims is Mitch Rapp, a gifted college athlete, who wants only one thing: retribution. Six months of intense training prepares him to devastate the enemy with brutal efficiency, leaving a trail of bodies from Istanbul and across Europe, to Beirut. But there, the American assassin will need every ounce of skill and cunning to survive the war-ravaged city and its deadly terrorist factions.

Dylan O'Brien will next be seen in DEEPWATER HORIZON, which is set for a September 30, 2016 release.