The Whisper Man will premiere on Netflix on August 28, bringing a new crime thriller led by Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghanand Adam Scott. The film adapts his best-selling novel Alex North and follows an investigation that reopens when children begin to disappear under circumstances connected to an earlier case.
Director James Ashcroft leads the project scripted by Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer. The production marks the sixth collaboration between Netflix and AGBOthe company founded by Russian brothers. The film centers its narrative around a family dynamic while creating a criminal investigation that connects past and present events.
The story centers on a widowed detective writer whose eight-year-old son is kidnapped. He turns to his estranged father, a retired detective, for help. Their search reveals a connection to a decades-old case involving a convicted serial killer known as the Whisper Man. Authorities once treated the case as closed, but new disappearances suggest the threat may continue.
De Niro plays the retired detective who led the original investigation and now returns to tackle the same case. The narrative places him at the center of both the search for the missing child and the unsolved details connected to the previous crimes. The relationship between father and son shapes the research as they cross distance and shared history.
A rhyme runs through the film and marks the presence of the Whisper Man. “If you leave a door ajar, you’ll soon hear the whispers. If your window is left unlocked, you’ll hear him banging on the glass. If you’re lonely, sad and blue, the Whisper Man will come for you.” Rhyme frames the fear surrounding the case and reappears as the children go missing.
Angela Russo-Otstotchief creative officer of AGBO, described the project as a thriller based on the bond between fathers and sons. He highlighted the emotional core that drives the narrative and highlighted De Niro’s role in shaping that focus.
The cast also includes Hamish Linklater, Owen Teague, Axton Luca Portoand Will Brill. The film moves between the search for answers and the personal stakes attached to the case, keeping the focus on the missing child and the figure known as the Whisper Man.
