Picture Credit: Netflix
Netflix has officially announced a release date and dropped the first chilling trailer for its brand new thriller adaptation of The Whisper Man. Here’s your updated comprehensive rundown of everything we know about the film so far, including its full cast, trailer breakdown, production updates, and what you can expect.
We first reported that Netflix was eying the project from AGBO back in April 2022. At the time, Netflix didn’t respond to a request for comment, and it wasn’t until February 2025 that the project was confirmed officially.
AGBO first optioned the book back in June 2018. When the book was optioned, author Alex North said: “As an enormous fan of Joe and Anthony Russo’s filmmaking, I am absolutely delighted to be working with AGBO to bring The Whisper Man to the screen. I can’t imagine a better home for it.”
AGBO is the production company established by Anthony and Joe Russo, the writing duo who got their start on TV sitcoms like Arrested Development and Community before moving onto the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, in more recent years, big-budget blockbusters, including Netflix’s The Gray Man, which continues to be Netflix’s seventh biggest English-language movie of all time.
Picture: AGBO
When will The Whisper Man be released on Netflix?
Netflix has officially confirmed that The Whisper Man will be released globally on August 28, 2026.
Is there a trailer for The Whisper Man?
Yes! Netflix recently dropped the first official trailer for the film, giving us a highly atmospheric and dread-inducing look at the adaptation.
The footage opens with a gloved hand playing a cassette tape labeled “Bobby” before a terrifying rhyme sets the tone: “If you leave a door half open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken. If your window is left unlatched, you’ll hear him tapping at the glass. If you’re lonely, sad, and blue, the Whisper Man will come for you.”
In the trailer, we see Tom (Adam Scott) desperately searching for his missing son, Jake, leading him to sit down at a diner with his estranged father (Robert De Niro). We learn that De Niro’s character caught the original “Whisper Man,” Frank Carter, 30 years ago. With Carter locked away serving a life sentence, the characters are forced to reckon with the impossible—how is he killing again?
The tense teaser ends with a newly discovered cassette tape labeled “Jake.” When it is played, a sinister voice asks: “Is there anything else you want to say to your daddy?”
The Whisper Man. Michelle Monaghan as Amanda Beck in The Whisper Man. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2026
The Whisper Man. (L-R) Acston Luca Porto as Jake Kennedy and Adam Scott as Tom Kennedy in The Whisper Man. Cr. David Lee/Netflix © 2026
What is The Whisper Man on Netflix about?
The movie adapts Alex North’s New York Times bestselling horror/thriller novel of the same name, which was released in June 2019.
The official updated logline for the movie is as follows:
“Based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Alex North. When his eight-year-old son is abducted, a widowed crime writer looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as “The Whisper Man.””
Who’s behind The Whisper Man for Netflix?
Chase Palmer and Ben Jacoby penned the screenplay adapting the source material. Palmer is best known for working on many projects, such as Warner Bros. Pictures’ 2017 Stephen King adaptation It and, more recently, as writer/director on Naked Singularity. Jacoby is one of the writers on the 20th Century Studios horror The First Omen and has a slew of other projects in the works.
Pictured: Chase Palmer and Ben Jacoby
Producing the feature are Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Angela Russo-Otstot, Michael Disco, and Kassee Whiting. Executive producers include Marcus Viscidi, Tim Connors, and Alex Leb.
New Zealand-based director James Ashcroft is in the director’s chair. He was previously tied to The Whisper Man in April 2023 by Stuff.co.nz. Ashcroft is best known for directing and writing the 2021 movie Coming Home in the Dark for Dark Sky Films. He’s also attached to direct How to Sell a Haunted House and has been linked to Old Haunts.
GOLDFISH CREATIVE
Who is in the cast of The Whisper Man?
The film boasts a highly impressive, star-studded roster:
Robert De Niro plays the estranged father and retired former police detective. The Academy Award-winning actor recently starred in Netflix’s political thriller Zero Day and previously starred in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.
Adam Scott (Severance, Parks and Recreation) plays Tom, the widowed crime writer desperately searching for his abducted son. Fiercely protective, he’ll do whatever it takes to shield his child—even if it means seeking help from his distant father.
Michelle Monaghan (The White Lotus, True Detective) plays Amanda Beck, described as an ambitious and sharp detective who is busy unraveling the mystery behind the decades-old serial killer connection.
Also rounding out the primary cast (as confirmed by the latest press release) are:
- Hamish Linklater (Midnight Mass)
- Owen Teague (Montana Story)
- Acston Luca Porto (Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado), appearing as Tom’s young son, Jake.
- Will Brill (Test Pattern)
(Note: Michael Keaton and John Carroll Lynch were initially reported to be joining the cast during earlier production updates, though they are not currently top-billed in Netflix’s latest press release).
The further cast list includes:
- Will Brill as Sgt. John Dyson
- Josh Bonzie as Officer Minogue
- Myrna Cabello as Mrs. Spencer
- Exavier Montanez as Neil Spencer
- John Grigley as Dominic Barrett
- Jaxon Santana as Stevie Grant
- Jen Burry as Mrs. Taverner
- Brennan Muller as Owen
- Rigel Harris as Rebecca
What was the production status of The Whisper Man?
The film was shot over a two-month period in New Jersey, United States, between April 4 and June 4, 2025. AGBOVerse shared a couple of photos from the first day of filming at a Friends Meeting House (Quakers) in Garretton, New Jersey. Numerous eyewitnesses and local reports caught the production in action throughout filming, including an instance where TapInto spotted Robert De Niro filming at Paterson City Hall.
Local outlet NJ.com spotted the team filming in Scotch Plains, Plainfield, North Plainfield, and Westfield. Montclair Local also reported that some filming took place at a special historic building in May at 60 S. Fullerton Ave.
Picture Credit: AGBOVerse
The official AGBO Films account confirmed filming had wrapped on June 7th, 2025 with an Instagram post, reading, “That’s a wrap on The Whisper Man! We can’t wait for you all to experience this gripping crime thriller from James Ashcroft starring Robert De Niro, Adam Scott, Michelle Monaghan, and Michael Keaton. Congrats to AGBO’s producing team!”
Are you looking forward to tuning into The Whisper Man when it drops on Netflix this August? Let us know in the comments below!
