Hollywood needs new stars like Glen Powell

With a little luck from a few tornadoes, 2024 could be the year of Glen Powell.

With a decent filmography of supporting and ensemble roles prior to the 2020s, Powell popped in an adversarial turn in 2022’s megahit “Top Gun: Maverick,” playing the Iceman-esque rival to Miles Teller’s lead role. Despite the movie being delayed multiple years, the “Top Gun” heat has helped elevate Powell to A-list status.

The Year of Powell technically began in December 2023 with the release of the romantic comedy “Anyone But You,” co-starring another rising star, Sydney Sweeney. The movie became a box office hit, then topped streaming charts for multiple weeks after its debut on Netflix.

His current project, the Richard Linklater crime comedy “Hit Man,” became a sensation on the festival circuit late last year before Netflix scooped it up as an exclusive to its platform. Powell stars as Gary Johnson, a mild-mannered college philosophy professor who moonlights as a tech guy for the local police on murder-for-hire sting operations. When the cops’ fake hitman isn’t available on a sting, Gary reluctantly poses as the contract killer, discovering his knack for creating convincing, wacky characters.

Gary eventually becomes the police department’s go-to fake hitman, leading the teacher-turned-undercover agent to create a variety of killer personas, including some modeled after notable movie killers. His most charming persona, Ron, inadvertently strikes a connection with Madison (Adria Arjona), a woman who (briefly) considers hiring a hitman to eliminate her abusive husband. Sparks fly between Madison and “Ron,” leading the story to complicated places (that notably diverge from the “real” Gary Johnson on whom the movie is based).

It's a shame “Hit Man” didn’t land in theaters this summer, because the Powell-Arjona chemistry exceeds even the playful dynamic of Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in “The Fall Guy.” Few movies aimed at mainstream audiences come anywhere close to the sexiness on display here.

Powell and Linklater co-wrote the script for “Hit Man,” though the actor worked on several previous Linklater efforts, including “Everybody Wants Some!!” and “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood.” The movie maintains its amusing tone before veering into a big story swing at the end. The overall success of the twist is open for debate, but it’s anchored by a spectacularly-crafted sequence between Powell, Arjona, another character and a handy smartphone.

Though “Hit Man” landed on Netflix, Powell has another chance for box office domination this summer. He headlines the rebooted “Twisters” blockbuster this July, and, look, that movie looks way more entertaining than it has any right to be, mostly because of Powell’s infectious energy.

    This image released by Netflix shows Adria Arjona, left, and Glen Powell in a scene from "Hit Man."