Bullet Train is a 2022 American action comedy film directed by David Leitch, who also produced with Kelly McCormick and Antoine Fuqua, from a screenplay by Zak Olkewicz. The film is based on the 2010 novel Maria Beetle (titled as Bullet Train in the UK and US edition), written by Kōtarō Isaka and translated by Sam Malissa, the second novel in Isaka's Hitman trilogy, of which the first novel was previously adapted as the 2015 Japanese film Grasshopper. The film features an ensemble cast featuring Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A. Martínez Ocasio and Sandra Bullock. In the film, Ladybug, a former hitman must battle fellow assassins while travelling on a bullet train. Principal photography began in Los Angeles in November 2020 and wrapped in March 2021. Bullet Train premiered in Paris on July 18, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on August 5, 2022, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $239.3 million worldwide on a production budget of around $85.9–90 million. Plot Yuichi Kimura, "The Father", boards a bullet train in Tokyo in search of the attacker of his son Wataru. Meanwhile, guided by his handler Maria Beetle, operative "Ladybug" is assigned to retrieve a briefcase full of cash from the same train, replacing a sick colleague, Carver. Ladybug is reluctant, as his recent string of bad luck during his jobs resulted in accidental deaths. Also on the train are two English assassin brothers codenamed "Lemon" and "Tangerine", who just rescued a man ("The Son") from kidnappers and are taking him and the briefcase to his father, a Russian-born Yakuza boss called "The White Death". During the trip, The Son is killed by poisoning. Ladybug discreetly steals the briefcase, but on his way off the train, is attacked by another assassin, codenamed "The Wolf", who recognizes Ladybug from his wedding, where his wife was killed. The Wolf mistakenly believes Ladybug to be one of her killers. Ladybug confusedly fights The Wolf, who accidentally kills himself with a deflected knife throw. Yuichi finds the person who attacked Wataru, a young woman codenamed "The Prince", but she overpowers him. She explains that she pushed Wataru off a roof to lure Yuichi to the train as part of a plan to have him kill the White Death. To ensure his cooperation,