The Gray Man Netflix - What We Know So Far
How excited would you be if we told you that Anthony and Joe Russo are getting ready to start filming their next movie? What if it was a big-budget, high-intensity espionage thriller that is set to reunite the brothers with Chris Evans? If that gets your heart pounding with excitement, then we've got some good news for you: An announcement has just been made that the brothers are teaming up to direct just such a film, titled The Gray Man.
The Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Endgame directors are making the movie for Netflix on a whopping $200 million budget, according to a report by Deadline. The film is intended to be the first in a series, which Deadline describes as "a James Bond level of scale." Joe Russo is working on the script with an assist from Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who previously collaborated with the brothers on the Avengers and Captain America films. The movie is based on a series of spy novels by Mark Greaney, the first of which is also titled The Gray Man.
There were a lot of details included in the announcement for The Gray Man, so we're going to sift through everything we know so far about this exciting new project.
When is The Gray Man going to hit Netflix?
There is a lot of uncertainty in the film and TV industry at the moment, even as some shows and movies begin filming again. The Gray Man has only just been announced, but the Russo brothers already have a filming start date in mind. According to Deadline, they are trying to get the production kicked off in January 2021. Of course, there will be a lot of variables that play into whether the movie actually starts filming then or not, but if there are directors powerful enough to make a big-budget blockbuster happen no matter the obstacles, they're the Russo brothers.
Everything from The Gray Man announcement makes the film sound like it will be a giant production, which could mean a longer turn-around time from the start of filming to us streaming it on Netflix. If they do manage to start production in January, we'd guess that the film will likely drop in spring or summer 2022 at the earliest.
The two big name actors attached to star in The Gray Man
At the time of writing, we only know two members of The Gray Man's cast, but they are two pretty exciting names. Ryan Gosling will play Court Gentry, a CIA operative known as the Gray Man because of his ability to get his job done without being seen or heard. Meanwhile, Captain America himself, Chris Evans, will be Lloyd Hansen, a colleague of Gentry's at the CIA who has to take on an extremely deadly mission of his own.
Other than that, we'll have to wait and see who fills out the rest of the cast. One thing we do know thanks to the Deadline announcement is that Gosling is meant to be the James Bond or Ethan Hunt figure of the franchise. Joe Russo is quoted as saying, "The idea is to create a franchise and build out a whole universe, with Ryan at the center of it."
Should The Gray Man prove to be a hit, expect to see Gosling return for whatever sequels follow. As for Evans, there's no news on whether he'll appear in any potential future installments. Based on what we know about the plot of the film, however, there's potential for it to go either way.
What we know about the plot of The Gray Man
Everything we've heard so far about The Gray Man makes it sounds like it's going to be a real doozy, including the intriguing premise. Gentry, the Gosling character, has been working for the CIA, but when the agency disavows him, he suddenly finds himself fighting for his life against his former employers. Evans' character, Hansen, is the agent tasked with tracking Gentry down. While Gosling is being touted as the franchise star, Evans could also come back as a recurring villain, depending on how the duel turns out for Hansen, .
Anthony Russo also clued Deadline in on what to expect from the vibe of the movie. He described the film as, "A real mano a mano between those two great actors who represent two different versions of the CIA, in what it can be, and what it can do." He also went on to add, "For those who were fans of Captain America: Winter Soldier, this is us moving into that territory in more of a real-world setting. That's what this movie really means for us."
We would say you don't even need to be fans of Captain America: Winter Soldier to get excited about the idea of a smart, high-octane spy thriller starring two of the most charismatic actors working today. Here's hoping The Gray Man doesn't stay in hiding for too much longer before dropping some more details.