Despite his on set injury closing down production on Maze Runner: The Death Cure indefinitely, Dylan O’Brien is wasting little time in securing his next project, with Deadline reporting that the actor is in talks with CBS Films and Lionsgate for the lead role of Mitch Rapp in American Assassin.
O’Brien will join Michael Keaton (Birdman) in the adaptation of Vince Flynn’s bestselling book series, which revolves around the exploits of CIA counter-terrorism operative Rapp. Keaton will play Stan Hurley, a Cold War veteran and mentor to the young assassin.
The project is being eyed as a potential franchise and “will begin as Rapp is a black ops recruit who’s devastated by the loss of his fiancee to a terrorist attack. The CIA deputy director assigns the shadowy Hurley to train a grief-stricken but highly motivated Rapp how to thwart terrorist operations and hunt the perpetrators. As Rapp’s training progresses, the pair is dispatched on a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent to stop a mysterious operative from starting World War III in the Middle East.”