Robert De Niro and Adam Scott are in a haunting murder mystery in The Whisper Man.
Based on Alex North’s bestselling novel of the same name, the Netflix film stars Scott as crime writer Tom Kennedy, whose life is thrown into disarray when his eight-year-old son is abducted, and clues point to it being the eponymous infamous serial child killer, previously captured and imprisoned by Tom’s estranged father, De Niro’s Detective Inspector Pete Willis. Desperate to find his son before it’s too late, Tom reluctantly turns to his father for help, releasing a tangled web of demons from their pasts.
Ahead of the film’s August 28 premiere, Netflix has unveiled the official The Whisper Man trailer. The video introduces De Niro’s retired police detective and his estranged son, played by Scott, as they’re forced to come back together when the latter’s son is abducted, with all signs pointing to the titular serial killer who has been convicted for years. Check out the trailer below:
Alongside Scott and De Niro, The Whisper Man features an ensemble roster of acclaimed stars, including Golden Globe nominee Michelle Monaghan, Oscar nominee Michael Keaton, Ballard‘s John Carroll Lynch, Emmy nominee Hamish Linklater, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ Owen Teague and Tony Award winner Will Brill. The Rule of Jenny Pen‘s James Ashcroft is in the director’s chair for the film, directing a script from The First Omen‘s Ben Jacoby and IT‘s Chase Palmer.
The Whisper Man marks a continuation of multiple trends for Netflix. For starters, it continues the streamer’s relationship with Anthony and Joe Russo, who first began working with Netflix on the 2019 thriller Mosul and have since worked with them as producers, directors and writers on everything from the Chris Hemsworth-led Extraction franchise to Ryan Gosling’s The Gray Man adaptation and Millie Bobby Brown’s The Electric State adaptation.
Additionally, it marks the latest gritty crime novel adaptation from Netflix, albeit this time in film form rather than their typical series format. The streamer has found large success adapting numerous works from author Harlan Coben, including their most recent series I Will Find You nearing their Top 10 all-time list within its first month on the air. Other notable hits include the Jo Nesbø-penned adaptation of his Detective Hole novels and Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson’s His & Hers, which secured the No. 10 spot on Netflix’s all-time list after its January 2026 premiere.
While it effectively keeps the majority of the movie’s biggest twists under wraps, The Whisper Man trailer does offer a few big clues as to the mystery behind the serial child killer’s supposed resurfacing. The most notable is that of De Niro’s character coming under question for seemingly keeping certain facts of both the current and past cases under wraps, potentially hinting at there being unanswered questions from the original investigation that may be important to saving Tom’s son.
One thing that The Whisper Man trailer effectively showcases is the film’s thoroughly dark tone, particularly with its depiction of the titular killer’s various signature elements. In some ways, the movie looks to be a proper replacement for the streamer’s fan-favorite thriller series Mindhunter, and could find its own way to creeping up Netflix’s all-time Top 10 list should it gather the proper word-of-mouth that everything from Leave the World Behind to Alan Ritchson’s War Machine got to secure their spots.
