When IO Interactive introduced Elusive Targets to Hitman back in 2016, it was a high-stakes experiment in live-service design. One chance. No retries. A single window of opportunity to slip in, execute a high-value mark, and vanish into the crowd. Over the years, that single-chance sandbox evolved into the studio’s favourite playground for stunt casting.
Bringing real-world pop-culture icons into Agent 47’s world is a delicate balancing act. Get it wrong, and it feels like a tacky brand partnership that shatters immersion. Get it right, and it turns Hitman into a masterclass of dark satire, star power, and absurd sandbox creativity.
This is our definitive ranking of every single Celebrity Elusive Target in Hitman World of Assassination history, evaluated on star power, level creativity, and how brilliantly they lean into their location’s theme.
We have left-out the Gary Busey one as we never got to it, and it’s not been available since. But it doesn’t feel like we’re missing out too much.
11. Wiz Khalifa – The Wizard (Isle of Sgàil)
Taking over the historic courtyard of the Ark Society, Wiz Khalifa stars as Taylor Graves (codenamed “The Wizard”), an eccentric mogul stepping into the ring for a high-society duel.
While Wiz brings effortless cool to the briefing, The Wizard suffers from a lack of mechanical iteration. Sgàil’s layout is already vast and gothic; placing him inside a standard VIP routine feels a bit safe. Beyond a few funny line deliveries and an option to poison his signature botanical blend, the mission feels more like a standard Hitman Contract than a bespoke celebrity overhaul.
Essentially a re-make of the Connor McGregor Elusive Target, this kind of doesn’t count as a full “new” event. It’s good, Wiz brings plenty to the role and to the atmosphere. But it doesn’t set itself well apart. Taking 47 into the cage is always fun, though. Great to be a Hitman in plain sight.
10. Snoop Dogg – The Herbalist (Haven Island)
Snoop Dogg’s arrival in The Herbalist brought plenty of headline noise, dropping him onto the tropical shores of Haven Island as Dr. Cyrus Cane, an eccentric entrepreneur who converted the luxury resort into the hub for his global edibles empire.
The star power is undeniable, but the mission lands lower on the list purely due to map pacing. While sneaking past guards to sabotage his poolside “Morsizzles” launching party delivers a few good laughs, the execution routes lack the multi-stage complexity seen higher up the ladder.
Taking 47 on the Golden Ticket tour is fun, and it’s woven nicely into Haven Island’s build. It’s one of the most pleasant maps in Hitman, and Snoop definitely deserves the location.
9. Dimitri Vegas – The Drop (Berlin)
Dropping Belgian DJ Dimitri Vegas into the concrete, bass-heavy sub-levels of Club Hölle in Berlin seemed like an ideal thematic match. The venue already possessed a pulsing techno atmosphere; all IO Interactive needed to do was weave a real-life electronic music star into the VIP balcony.
The Drop remains the most straightforward of the club-focused roster. While having an actual music producer in a nightclub map makes logical sense, the mission design lacks dramatic flair.
The target route is predictable, and the special kill opportunities rarely push the boundaries of Hitman’s signature dark humour.
8. Jacksepticeye – The Host (Hawke’s Bay)
Creator icon Jacksepticeye stepped into the sandbox as Finn Colton (aka “Finnvictus”), an obnoxious, hyper-paranoid content creator hosting a chaotic live stream from the luxury beach house in Hawke’s Bay.
The Host turns Hawke’s Bay’s quiet luxury into a hyper-surveilled broadcast nightmare. Roaming content crews and live streaming cameras mean Agent 47 is constantly at risk of being exposed on air. The level design repurposes the solitary beach house into a sleek studio environment, complete with opportunities to disguise 47 as reclusive millionaire “Tobias Rieper” and join the podcast mid-stream.
This is one of the most on-the-nose missions, hitting at popular culture, whilst weaving it into Hitman and actually tying-together some Hitman lore at the same time. It’s really cleverly done and put together in a very slick way.
7. Bruce Lee – The Infiltrator (Bangkok)
Featuring the iconic likeness of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, The Infiltrator reverses the usual Hitman dynamic. Rather than just hunting down a villain, Agent 47 is tasked with navigating the Himmapan Hotel in Bangkok to “protect” Lee’s undercover operative persona as he attempts to dismantle an international crime syndicate from the inside.
The mission design is a fantastic nod to classic martial arts cinema. The Bangkok hotel is outfitted with dragon-themed decorations, and 47 can disguise himself as a rival tournament fighter. Watching Bruce Lee effortlessly counter NPC guards before you quietly slip a lethal syringe into his real mark’s drink makes this one of the most uniquely structured targets in the game.
This one felt like one of the hardest, purely because it flipped the script a little. It’s great use of the map, a lovely implementation of someone as significant as Bruce Lee. Hitman seemingly transcending limits of some media, being able to faithfully and tastefully bring in Bruce Lee like this.
6. Milla Jovovich – The Harbinger (Dartmoor)
Milla Jovovich brings full Resident Evil action-heroine energy to Hitman and Thornbridge Manor in Dartmoor. Playing Lilith Devereux, the ruthless, tech-obsessed CEO of Ether Corporation. She turns the stately estate into a high-tech bio-research facility.
IO Interactive overhauled the manor to feature secret quarantine sectors and laser-grid security rooms. The level offers brilliant, action-centric assassination opportunities—from hacking her corporate board meeting presentation to tampering with prototype lab equipment in the manor’s hidden corridors. Jovovich’s icy performance elevates this into a top-tier mission.
There’s so many nods to Resident Evil, there’s the spreading of an infection and trying to contain it.
5. Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre – The Banker (Paris)
Mads Mikkelsen reprising his iconic Casino Royale role as Le Chiffre inside the Palais de Walewska in Paris is pure James Bond fan service. IO Interactive completely reworked the upper floor auction hall into an exclusive, high-stakes poker room where 47 can actually sit down, gamble, and out-manoeuvre the cold, calculating financier.
The detail here is staggering: Le Chiffre uses his signature platinum inhaler, randomly suffers from haemolacria (weeping blood from his left eye), and will actually poison 47 if you drink with him at the table. It fits Paris’s high-fashion, high-wealth aesthetic like a tailored tuxedo, scoring massive points for star power and thematic map integration.
It’s very easy to see how the masters of Hitman were trusted with the 007 licence. They just understand what makes it what it is. This mission was no exception, and a really slick crossover.
4. Eminem/Slim Shady – The Reflection (Hokkaido)
Bringing Marshall Mathers into Hitman resulted in one of the most surreal missions in the trilogy’s history. Rather than setting up a simple real-world target, The Reflection leaned directly into psychological horror, transforming Hokkaido’s GAMA Private Hospital into the eerie “Popsomp Hills Asylum”.
The mission sees Eminem hire the ICA to eliminate his own psychotic split-personality, Slim Shady, who roams the medical facility terrorising staff and brandishing a chainsaw. IO Interactive overhauled the sterile, high-tech hospital into a dreamscape complete with mirror portals and surreal visual shifts, offering a fever-dream experience unlike anything else in the game.
We’ve never seen anything like it before and suspect we won’t again for some time. This one is really quite unique!
3. Conor McGregor – The Disruptor (Isle of Sgàil)
There is an undeniable, cathartic joy to The Disruptor. Casting former UFC champion Conor McGregor as an arrogant, trash-talking MMA fighter inside the sinister, ultra-exclusive fortress of the Ark Society on the Isle of Sgàil was a stroke of satirical brilliance.
The map modifications here were magnificent. IO Interactive constructed a full-scale underground MMA cage inside Sgàil’s medieval ruins, allowing Agent 47 to disguise himself as a fighter, step into the ring, and engage in hand-to-hand combat.
What places The Disruptor so high is the raw satisfaction of the elimination more than any other target in Hitman, if you ask us. McGregor’s public persona, loud, aggressive, and entirely devoid of subtlety, makes him one of the most insufferable targets in the entire series.
Whether you poison his drink at the bar, drop heavy castle masonry on his head, or step into the Octagon to knock his lights out in front of a room full of secretive billionaires, silencing his bravado is immensely gratifying.
This was subsequently pulled after Conor was being put through the courts for various allegations. IO Interactive, rightly didn’t want to associate with someone with such a poor reputation. However, those of us that purchased the content still have it, and can go back and give him a slap from time to time.
Sometimes being a Hitman is just for fun.
2. Sean Bean – The Undying (Miami)
For years, Sean Bean’s portrayal of Mark Faba (a rogue ex-MI5 operative known as “The Undying”) stood as the gold standard for Hitman event content. Casting an actor notorious for dying in almost every screen role he takes, and giving him a character who repeatedly survives impossible assassination attempts, was a stroke of meta genius.
The Undying transformed the Innovation Center at the Miami race track into a lethal engineering workshop. Bean played Faba with dry, self-aware charm, sitting at a conference table asking Agent 47 (disguised as a technician) to explain exactly how he would use basic office stationery as a lethal weapon. The mission offered a brilliant suite of tailored eliminations: explosive pens, re-engineered prototype androids, and poisoned coffee.
If our number one hadn’t come out, there’s no doubt that this would be the winner. It’s one of the originals, it’s Sean freaking Bean, and it’s fun. It can be tricky, but also some of the most satisfying scripted kills are here.
1. Jean-Claude Van Damme – The Splitter (Chongqing)
Claiming the top spot is the Muscles from Brussels himself. The inclusion of Jean-Claude Van Damme as Max Valliant (codenamed The Splitter) is a triumph of 1980s action cinema tribute and sandbox engineering.
Setting the mission inside the rain-soaked, neon subterranean depths of Chongqing, IO Interactive transformed the underground ICA facility into a secret cloning lab run amok. Van Damme plays Valliant with utter commitment, depicting a rogue ex-operative who has successfully created multiple identical clones of himself scattered across the facility.
The level mechanics represent the absolute peak of the Elusive Target concept. The design parodies JCVD’s iconic filmography, allowing you to execute him while he is suspended mid-air in his trademark splits, alongside custom weapons, retro safehouse rewards, and camp vocal work. Navigating the neon-lit facility while hunting down his clones makes The Splitter the undisputed king of the celebrity hits.
Moreover, it’s been our most-watched and most-liked TikTok video by a long-shot. It’s been a massive boon to our online presence, and that’s not worth nothing.
Hitman
What do you think? How does our ranking hold-up?
No matter the order, IO Interactive have continued to keep us engaged and provide twists and turns, over and over. Hitman is as alive and well as it as it was on day one. Arguably moreso.
Here’s to many more, and more surprises as we go. Never a dull moment with a new Celebrity Elusive Target.
