The following article explains the ending of the Netflix streaming film Hit Man, which stars Glen Powell and Adria Arjona. This article will contain significant spoilers.
The story follows Gary Johnson as he stumbles into a role out of happenstance. Gary is a professor at the local college in New Orleans and moonlights as an IT expert for the police, helping with their surveillance units. The squad goes online and pretends to be hitmen for hire on the dark web, catching people who try to hire them.
Gary assists detectives Claudette (Retta), Phil (Sanjay Rao), and Jasper (Austin Amelio) with their work. However, Jasper is suspended at the last minute before their next job. (Jasper, by the looks of it, is the department's social media nightmare.) This forces Claudette to send Gary into service, pretending to be a "hitman" for hire, a profession that doesn't really exist.
Adria Arjona and Glenn Powell in Hit Man (2024) | Image via Netflix
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Netflix's Hit Man Ending Explained
Yet people always seem to get caught trying to hire one, like Maddy (Andor's Adria Arjona). Gary has a voracious appetite for knowledge and uses his recent study of human behavior to create different personas. Not only is Gary good at the job, but it has also broken him out of his dull, predictable self. That's because Gary met Maddy on the job.
She answered the dark web posting looking to hire Gary as a hitman to kill her abusive ex, Ray (Evan Holtzman). He guides Maddy out of the predicament she finds herself in. (Remember, Gary is wearing a wire, and they're recording the conversation in the van.) Gary then falls for Maddy, and things spin out of control.
Why Does Maddy Kill Her Ex, Ray?
Maddy kills her ex, Ray because Gary (Glen Powell) told her that she planned on killing her. That's because Gary the day or two before was almost hired by Ray to put a bullet in Maddy's head. Of course, Gary isn't really a hitman, so things are becoming far too real. Soon, his team is investigating Ray's murder. Gary then admits to Maddy that he is (kind of) a cop undercover.
Adria Arjona and Glenn Powell in Hit Man (2024) | Image via Netflix
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Why Does Jasper Blackmail Gary?
Jasper blackmails Gary because he is jealous of him. Gary's arrest record as an undercover agent is much higher than Jasper's. During a meeting with Claudette, Phil, Jasper, and their boss, Gary lies and says Maddy had nothing to do with it to protect her. Jasper confirms to the captain that he agrees with Gary's opinion.
Why Does Gary Kill Jasper?
Gary tells Maddie before he kills Jasper, "Commitment."
Gary kills Jasper because not only is he blackmailing him for his job, but he also wants the insurance money Maddy is going to receive from Ray's death. After Jasper confronts the couple in her home and demands the money, threatening to turn them in, he begins to sweat, experiences abdominal pains, and passes out on the floor. Jasper has been poisoned.
Maddy slipped poison into Jasper's beer while arguing with Gary. As Jasper lies on the floor, Gary turns him over on his back and ties a plastic grocery bag around his head. Gary tells Maddy that the cops won't investigate because Jasper has a bad reputation in the department. The drugs, alcohol, and bag over his head will make it look like a suicide.
Glenn Powell in Hit Man (2024) | Image via Netflix
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Does Gary Turn Into Ron?
Powell's portrayal of Gary depicts a character who, through extroversion and transformative learning, evolves into the person he aspires to be. However, a minor issue is Gary's aspiration to embody the persona of Ron, that he has created. By the end of the film, Gary has transformed into a suave, confident playboy, and the man Maddie fell in love with at the diner.
Is Hit Man Based on a True Story?
Hit Man is truly a Texas affair. Native Texans Richard Linklater and Glen Powell wrote the adaptation from the Texas Monthly article of the same name by Skip Hollandsworth, with whom Linklater has a relationship from their time together on the American black comedy Bernie.
The script is a uniquely Texas story based on a real-life figure, Gary Johnson, who helped catch over 60 criminals in the city of Houston. Linklater and Powell tweak the ending to evolve Johnson's hitman from a quirky farce into a work of dark comedic art that has a lot to say about human behavior.
Does Netflix's Hit Man have a post-credit scene?
Netflix's Hit Man does not have a post-credit scene but does have an infographic before the credits. It is a dedication to the film's inspiration, Gary Johnson. The message also sets the record straight that a dramatic license was used because Gary never killed anyone.
You can watch Hit Man now in theaters and stream on Netflix on June 7th.
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