Netflix releases 'The Whisper Man' on Aug. 28, 2026, a crime thriller directed by James Ashcroft from a script by Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer. The film stars Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott and Michael Keaton, with John Carroll Lynch, Hamish Linklater, Owen Teague and Acston Luca Porto rounding out the cast.
The story centers on a widowed crime writer whose 8-year-old son is abducted. Searching for answers, he turns to his estranged father—a retired police detective—and uncovers a link to a convicted serial killer known as The Whisper Man. Keaton plays the killer.
The Russo brothers optioned the film rights through their production company AGBO in 2018, nearly a year before Alex North's source novel was published on June 14, 2019. Netflix acquired the project in April 2022. Ashcroft joined as director in April 2023.
Production began April 7, 2025, in and around Plainfield, New Jersey, and wrapped June 4, 2025—a 59-day shoot. The Russo brothers, Angela Russo-Otstot and Michael Disco produced, with Kassee Whiting and Marcus Viscidi serving as executive producers.
