Michael Keaton will step behind the camera for the first time in fifteen years to direct the new film Knox Goes Away, which he will also star in.

Keaton is John Knox, a contract killer with a rapidly evolving form of dementia, who is offered an opportunity to redeem himself by saving the life of the adult son with whom he had been estranged.

Al Pacino, Joanna Kulig, Marcia Gay Harden, James Marsden and Ray McKinnon star in this suspenseful thriller, which was called "low key but satisfying" in early reviews from its run at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023.

In 2015, Keaton earned his first and only Academy Award nomination for his role in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Birdman.

He has had a diverse career, with credits ranging from a role in the Best Picture-winning Spotlight to superhero flicks like Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Flash. Keaton has also lent his voice to films such as Minions, Toy Story 3 and Cars.

Now, he will demonstrate versatility in another area as he steps up to direct and star in Knox Goes Away

Keaton has only ever directed one feature before - The Merry Gentleman - which follows a woman who starts a new life in Chicago after leaving her abusive husband. There, she befriends a man undergoing an emotional crisis, who she does not know is a professional killer, and a detective, who is investigating the hit man.

Knox Goes Away appears to be in Keaton's bag as the story follows similar themes as his first film.

Knox Goes Away is set for a theatrical release on March 15. 

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