The Gray Man Universe Is Expanding In An Unexpected Way

The Netflix action thriller "The Gray Man" recently hit the streaming platform to a somewhat muted critical response, but raves from audiences. It's currently clocking a sickly green 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, but in contrast, the movie's audience score is a much higher 91%, indicating that it's one of those occasional crowd-pleasers that don't satisfy the critics.

So, it should come as no surprise that Netflix is already looking to expand the franchise with a sequel, retaining directors Joe and Anthony Russo and star Ryan Gosling, particularly since the film ends with certain questions still unanswered. But what might be a little more surprising is that Netflix is also expanding the universe of "The Gray Man," beyond simple sequel territory. In fact, Netflix has already announced an interesting new project that will please and intrigue everyone who checked out and enjoyed "The Gray Man" in its opening weekend. So if you're one of those happy viewers, you can feel good about the fact that you helped contribute to not just a direct follow-up to the film but another, more mysterious project that will add to the mythology of the film.

According to a new press release directly from Netflix, a sequel to "The Gray Man" has already been greenlit. In addition to the currently untitled "The Gray Man 2," the statement also says that a spin-off is in the works, as well, teased only with the announcement that the spin-off film is "set to explore a different element of 'The Gray Man' universe."

Set to be penned by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese — the screenwriting duo behind films like "Zombieland," "Spiderhead," and "Deadpool," as well as the upcoming "Deadpool 3" – the precise nature of the untitled "Gray Man" spin-off will likely be a source of much curiosity for fans, who shouldn't expect any clarification in the near future. In fact, Netflix's online magazine Tudum called the film's plot "as top secret as the Gray Man's dental records."

Whatever the nature of this "Gray Man" spinoff will end up being, it shows that Netflix is committed to an entire expanded universe stemming from the first film, itself based on a popular spy thriller novel series by Mark Greaney, the 12th installment of which — titled "Burner" — is set to come out next year.