Michael Keaton will be starring in and directing a noir thriller titled Knox Goes Away.

The film will have Keaton playing a contract killer who has been diagnosed with a rapidly-moving form of dementia. A chance at redemption arises with saving the life of his estranged life – a challenging task made all the more difficult with police on his tail and his quickly deteriorating condition.

Knox Goes Away‘s screenplay comes from Gregory Poirier, whose credits include hard-hitting 1997 picture Rosewood, 2000 teen thriller Gossip, and 2010 Jackie Chan comedy The Spy Next Door. As reported by Deadline, the film is being produced by Brookstreet’s Trevor Matthews and Nick Gordon and Sugar23’s Michael Sugar and Ashley Zalta, with FilmNation Entertainment handling international sales at the Cannes market this month.

This will be the second feature film as director for Keaton. The actor made his directorial debut with moderately-received 2008 drama The Merry Gentlemen, taking the helm a few days before filming was to start after a ruptured appendix forced director Ron Lazzeretti to step aside. Interestingly, that film also had him playing a hitman.

On the acting front, Keaton’s upcoming credits include two films that will see him returning to the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne: The Flash and Batgirl.

Cameras on Knox Goes Away are expected to begin rolling in Los Angeles in late August.