American Assassin exclusive trailer sees Michael Keaton train a killer

He stars across Dylan O'Brien, who plays a CIA black ops recruit sent to prevent a mysterious operative from starting a world war in the Middle East

This is Michael Keaton's world and we're just living in it.

The actor's made quite the comeback in the past couple of years, spring-boarding from Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman into the likes of Spotlight and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

His latest is gritty, visceral action flick American Assassin, adapted from Vince Flynn's 2010 novel of the same name. Keaton's Stan Hurley is a Cold War veteran hired to train CIA black ops recruit Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien), traumatised after the death of his girlfriend during a terrorist attack.

The pair soon embark on a mission to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilan targets. The links between them, however, lead them to a mysterious operative (Taylor Kitsch) hell-bent on sparking a new world war in the Middle East.

Flynn's book is part of an entire Mitch Rapp series, so, if American Assassin turns out as a success, there's potential here a whole new Jack Reacher or Bourne-style franchise.

American Assassin hits UK cinemas 15 September.