(Updated 03/04/2025)
Movies featuring a CIA analyst out for revenge conjure up images of action-heavy escapades. The Jack Ryan movies and TAKEN series come to mind. But analysts aren't gun-toting heroes, and the action in THE AMATEUR reflects that. Rami Malek stars as the title character, who targets the terrorists who killed his wife.
It's a return to the big screen for Malek, who has only played two starring roles since winning the Best Actor Oscar for BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in 2019. THE AMATEUR, which adapts the novel of the same name by Robert Littell, calls back to the "Mr. Robot" role that made Malek famous in the first place. Check out the latest trailer, and we'll tell you more about the movie.
The Amateur Goes to Work in April
20th Century Studios will release THE AMATEUR in movie theaters on April 11, 2025.
Watch the Latest Trailer for The Amateur
In this trailer for THE AMATEUR, Rami Malek's character voices a version of what we'd probably all want to do in a similar situation — and, to the movie's credit, the response is laughter. But that sets up the primary deal in the movie. How does a guy who is not an action hero by any means achieve the sort of vengeance he desires?
Malek explained the character to THR. "Charlie has lost his soulmate, the love of his life. So he seeks some sort of justice from the people he works for, and he’s turned away [by the CIA]. He’s told to just bury his head in the sand, and that breeds an explosive nature in him, making him quite different."
The Amateur Is Based on a Cold War Spy Novel
Author Robert Littell parlayed his journalistic experience as an international correspondent into a second career as the author of spy thrillers. "The Amateur" was his sixth novel, published in 1981. It was quickly adapted into a well-regarded Canadian movie starring John Savage, Christopher Plummer, and Marthe Keller.
Since THE AMATEUR, the 2025 version, does not seem to be set in the '70s or '80s, we're guessing that writers Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli have made a few changes. For one, in the novel and original movie, at least one key relationship is slightly different. So there might be some other changes, too.
The Amateur Surrounds Rami Malek With a Great Cast
Obviously, a big draw with THE AMATEUR is the chance to see Rami Malek in a new starring role that calls back to his "Mr. Robot" days. Malek's last starring roles were in NO TIME TO DIE and THE LITTLE THINGS in 2021. Since then, he played supporting roles in AMSTERDAM and OPPENHEMER, but THE AMATEUR marks his first leading role in four years.
But a lead is always made better by the cast around them. (Except in the rare case of a solo performance like Philip Baker Hall in SECRET HONOR.) So Malek gets to play off of Laurence Fishburne, Caitríona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, and the great Holt McCallany.
The movie also features Rachel Brosnahan — soon to be seen in SUPERMAN as Lois Lane — as well as Julianne Nicholson, Adrian Martinez, Danny Sapani, and Takehiro Hira.
THE AMATEUR opens on April 11.
All images courtesy of 20th Century Studios.