Michael Fassbender is a terrifying hitman in first trailer for David Fincher's new Netflix crime thriller

The first trailer for David Fincher’s new thriller The Killer has arrived.

Per the official longline: “After a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.” Michael Fassbender plays the assassin in question, wielding guns, donning disguises, and repeating hitman-themed mantras to himself throughout the entire trailer.

“Empathy is weakness, weakness is vulnerability," Fassbender's hitman says. "This is what it takes if you want to succeed."

Fincher directs from a screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker (reuniting with the writer who he worked with him on Seven), adapted from the French graphic novel series of the same name written by Alexis Nolent and illustrated by Luc Jacamon. Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard, Sophie Charlotte, Kerry O'Malley, Gabriel Polanco, Emiliano Pernia, and Tilda Swinton (who we catch a glimpse of in the trailer) also star.

Fincher has had plans to adapt The Killer into a feature-length film since 2007, with Paramount Pictures originally set as distributor. The prolific director hasn't helmed a feature-length thriller since 2014's Gone Girl, taking a six-year hiatus from film overall before returning with the biographical drama Mank in 2020.

During said hiatus, he directed two episodes of House of Cards, seven episodes of Joe Penhall's Mindhunter, and an episode of Netflix's trippy adult animated anthology series Love, Death & Robots.

The trailer feels like a callback to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, with a hint of trippiness that reminds us of Fight Club. We are so ready.

The Killer is out November 10 on Netflix and in select UK cinemas. For more, check out our list of the best Netflix movies to stream right now.