The Protégé

In 1991, international assassin Moody Dutton discovers a child named Anna in the aftermath of a gang massacre in Da Nang, Vietnam. Thirty years later, Moody has raised Anna as his apprentice, while she runs a rare book shop in London as a cover.[3]

After celebrating Moody’s 70th birthday at his English manor, Anna gives him a guitar owned by Albert King, and he asks her to track down a person of interest named Lucas Hayes. Anna enlists her contact Benny to investigate Lucas, and encounters the mysterious Michael Rembrandt at her bookstore. Soon after, Anna finds Moody and Benny murdered, recovers files Moody hid from his killers, and survives a hit at her store.

The files indicate that Lucas’s father Edward was a past target killed by Moody in Da Nang. Anna travels there and convinces old associate Billy Boy to help her confront Jossino Vohl, Edward’s business partner who took over their company after Edward's death. She meets with Vohl and his lawyer, Duquet, but Duquet unexpectedly kills Vohl and takes Anna prisoner, demanding to know why she is seeking Hayes. During her captivity, she is visited again by Rembrandt; it is revealed that Rembrandt and Duquet are rivals working for the same man. He tells her he was not involved in Moody's death or the shooting at her store, but that she should drop her quest to find Lucas.

After the visit, Anna escapes and discovers that Lucas is severely disabled, cared for in a facility with a wealthy benefactor. Anna agrees to meet Rembrandt for dinner, where he urges her not to pursue his mysterious employer. After they part, Rembrandt survives a hit ordered by Duquet while Anna finds and kills Duquet at his apartment. She ambushes Rembrandt when he arrives but they give in to their mutual attraction and sleep together.

On the street, Anna is shot by Duquet’s last henchman but is rescued by Moody, who faked his death by disguising his attempted killer as himself. They find out that Rembrandt’s employer is holding a charity banquet at his heavily fortified mansion. Anna infiltrates that banquet disguised as a waiter but is stopped by Rembrandt. Moved to his secure bunker, the employer is confronted by Moody and is revealed to be Edward Hayes.

Edward hired Moody to perform the hit on him years ago, faking his death to hide him, his son, and his criminal empire. Moody tells Edward that he was only looking for Lucas to make amends for killing his father, and that Edward brought all this upon himself, before detonating a bomb, killing Edward and himself.

Badly wounded, Anna escapes to Da Nang to the place where Moody found her as a child. It is revealed that young Anna’s family was attacked by a gang who forced her to watch them kill her parents and sisters. At the gang hideout, she watched the gang leader clean and assemble a pistol before assembling one herself and using it to kill the gang before being rescued by Moody.

Rembrandt arrives, and he and Anna hold each other at gunpoint. A shot is heard before Anna exits the building, alone.

In October 2017, it was announced that Gong Li had joined the cast of the film, then titled Ana, with Martin Campbell directing from a screenplay by Richard Wenk.[6] In November 2019, it was announced Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson and Maggie Q had joined the cast of the film.[7]

Principal photography began in January 2020 under the title The Asset.[8] Filming took place in Bucharest, London and Da Nang.[7]

The film was released in theatres on August 20, 2021, by Lionsgate.[9][10] It was previously scheduled to be released on April 23, 2021.

• Official website
• The Protégé at IMDb