A woman standing behind a man close enough to lean her head over his shouler as he stretches his arm outward. | Image: Netflix

The idea of pretending to be a contract killer while working undercover for the police sounds stressful as hell, but the first trailer for Richard Linklater’s Hit Man makes the gig seem like a fun way to work out those improv muscles.

Loosely based on journalist Skip Hollandsworth’s 2001 Texas Monthly article by the same name, Hit Man tells the tale of Gary Johnson (Glen Powell), an unassuming college professor who spends his free time pretending to be a mercenary to help police flush out folks who intend to put hits on people. Though Gary’s disguises make him look like a cheesy character out of a film or show about shady criminals, that seems to be what convinces people that he’s legit before the officers he works for (Retta, Sanjay…

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