This year marks the 10th anniversary of Hitman: Absolution, and voice actor David Bateson recently spoke about Hitman's legacy. But while the Hitman video games are cherished by fans and have been successful for more than 22 years, the same, unfortunately, can't be said for the movie series.
The video game franchise has had two movie adaptations, both of which were critically scathed and hated by the fandom. The movies lacked everything great about the games, such as the inventive kills, the dry humor, and the hilarious disguises. But Hitman has more potential than any other video game for a great movie adaptation, and in the hands of the right director, it could be a classic.
Kathryn Bigelow
With movies like Point Break and Strange Days under her belt, Kathryn Bigelow directed some of the best action movies of the 1990s. And she then reinvented herself in the 2000s with war dramas and political thrillers such as The Hurt Locker and Detroit. Her movies feature explosions and action, but they're so impactful because they aren't non-stop like other action flicks are.
Bigelow also knows how to delve into the psyche of those who are forced into life-threatening situations. And as Agent 47 is actually a clone and was created to be an expert killer, Bigelow's Hitman could explore that and it could take cues from Hitman: Absolution. The 2012 game sees 47 empathizing with the Internation Contract Agency's targets and questioning his purpose. The director's take on the concept could be a perfect mix of her earlier action flicks and her later meditative character study thrillers.
Brian De Palma
Brian De Palma hasn't made many popular movies lately, but he's due for a comeback, and a blockbuster movie like Hitman could mark one of the biggest director comebacks ever. The filmmaker knows better than anybody how to build suspense, and as is the case with De Palma's very best movies, he knows how to create huge, multi-stranded sequences all within one area, which is exactly what the Hitman games are all about.
Scarface sees multiple events going on at any given moment on the Miami beachfront, and the criminally underrated Snake Eyes mostly takes place in a bustling arena during a boxing match that revolves around a murder conspiracy. As the Hitman games are all full of levels based across the world and each level is a huge explorable location, De Palma would know how to tackle that better than almost anybody. And as he directed the first Mission: Impossible movie, which is the most stealth, spy, and espionage-oriented of them all, De Palma could direct a thrilling Hitman movie.
The Safdie Brothers
The Safdie Brothers are currently the best in the industry at building tension and creating anxiety-inducing, palm-sweating moments. And while it's extremely subtle, they do have some comedy sensibilities too, as simply Howard's look in Uncut Gems is weird and hilarious. So the brothers would definitely take advantage of Agent 47 using random disguises to gain access to restricted areas.
That's even already happened in one of their movies, as Connie wears the security guard's jacket after knocking him out in Good Time. As the previous Hitman movies have seen Agent 47 dressing in military outfits and little else, the third attempt at a reboot must introduce some of Agent 47's more outlandish disguises like real estate agents, hippies, and even vampire magicians.
Lynne Ramsey
Lynne Ramsey's Hitman movie would be mostly void of the humor that's intrinsically tied with the series, but it'd excel in so many other areas that it'd make for such a unique, dramatic, and almost operatic video game movie. And that's more than fitting given that one of the very best Hitman levels not only takes place at an opera house, but the series' main theme is "Ava Maria."
Ramsey's movies are full of grief, guilt, and the aftermath of death, so her Hitman could see Agent 47 truly struggle with the consequences of his profession. Her movies also don't feature much dialogue, which is perfect considering that 47 isn't much of a talker.
Matt Reeves
Batman movies continue to get darker and darker with each reboot, and while that's no different in Matt Reeves' recently released The Batman, it is tonally different from previous iterations in other ways. The Batman sees the hero as a detective, and while the Caped Crusader has always been a detective, that's never been portrayed all that well.
The 2022 movie sees Batman putting the pieces of a puzzle together, and in many ways, that's a lot like the Hitman games. The game sees players uncovering the target, reaching the target, and assassinating the target are all different intertwining puzzles in the game. And there's loads of Hitman-esque dry comedy in The Batman too, whether it's Bruce stoically saying "thumb... drive" when he holds up a USB stick connected to a severed thumb.
Mary Harron
Mary Harron has worked in almost every genre, most notably in horror and thriller, as she directed the cult classic, American Psycho. Better yet, as the 2000 film is one of the best satirical movies ever made, she could implement that kind of humor into a Hitman movie.
And as the Hitman games have been known to reference classic movies, there could even be a scene where Agent 47 puts on a raincoat and wields an ax, referencing the iconic scene in American Psycho. Harron has also directed full-on horror movies, and it'd be great to see shots from the perspective of 47's targets, almost as if the assassin is a horror villain and is preying on his victims.
Spike Lee
Spike Lee might be best known for his sensational political dramas that are social commentaries and explore xenophobia in America, but people forget that he can also be a great genre director too. The filmmaker directed the phenomenal heist movie Inside Man and the neo-noir action thriller Oldboy. While the latter got Lee some of the worst reviews of his career, it had a unique aesthetic and featured some shockingly violent moments even by Agent 47's standards.
Even with his genre movies, Lee manages to incorporate his own social and economic views, and that's why Lee is a great choice for Hitman. The director could elevate the video game movie genre to something more respectable, as it's well documented what kind of reputation adaptations of video games have.
Dan Gilroy
Though Dan Gilroy doesn't have many directing credits to his name, he directed one of the greatest thriller movies of the 2010s, Nightcrawler. But despite the heavy subject matter and the skin-crawlingly creepy Lou, Gilroy still managed to inject loads of humor into the movie.
Between shocking audiences with what the main character is capable of, all of the movie's twists and turns, and being able to make audiences laugh at the same time, directing a franchise movie is the next step for Gilroy, and Hitman is the perfect property. Lou and Agent 47 have a lot of similarities, so it'd be easy for Gilroy to tap into the assassin, and few other writer-directors would enjoy and take advantage of everything the Hitman sandbox has to offer.
Rian Johnson
The recent trilogy of Hitman games has a fascinating format, as the levels of each game are all almost completely standalone episodes (the first game of the trilogy was even released episodically.) Each level features a rotating cast of fascinating characters with the one recurring lead being Agent 47. That sounds a lot like Rian Johnson's Knives Out, which has instantly become one of the best murder mystery movies and currently has two sequels in the works.
Johnson would have a field day building worlds and murder mysteries around Agent 47. Even Hitman III's best level is eerily similar to Knives Out, as it takes place in a darkly lit English manor and revolves around a murder mystery. The Knives Out writer-director may be the one who could pen the very best Hitman script, even if he doesn't direct it himself.
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan hasn't directed a franchise movie ever since The Dark Knight Rises, and while his original movies are extremely creative and exciting, there's no denying how great a Nolan-helmed Hitman movie would be. He's an expert writer, is influenced by epic crime thrillers like Heat, and is better than anyone at rebuilding a stale franchise.
As the writer-director frequently collaborates with composer Hans Zimmer and cinematographer Wally Pfister, Nolan's Hitman would be an epic and exciting video game movie — even if it does cost $250 million to make. And at the very least, Nolan loves directing action movies where the protagonist is in a tailored suit, whether it's Inception or Tenet, and what fits that description better than Hitman?