The Avengersstar Chris Evans is no stranger to action, having saved the universe countless times under the guise of Captain America, but it looks like Netflix’s upcoming spy thrillerThe Gray Manis seriously putting him through his paces. Based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Mark Greaney,The Gray Manwill find the Marvel star hunting down Ryan Gosling’s titular rogue secret agent. Evidently the actors are taking their role as enemies very seriously…
“It’s like watching the leaves turn in autumn, but condensed into one painful afternoon. (Got into a little tussle with the Gray Man) #thegrayman.”
The Gray ManfindsChris Evansreuniting withAvengers: Endgamedirector Anthony and Joe Russo, who are working from a screenplay co-written with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.The Gray Manfollows a former CIA operative turned freelance assassin named Court Gentry, who is also known as the Gray Man. Ryan Gosling will star as Gentry, who is being pursued by his former CIA cohort Lloyd Hansen, played by Chris Evans. Clearly, both Evans and Gosling are relishing the opportunity to throw punches at each other, with their commitment sure to result in some thrilling action sequences.
Alongside the A-list one-two punch ofRyan Goslingand Chris Evans, the project has amassed a stellar supporting cast includingKnives Outstar Ana de Armas,Bridgerton’sRegé-Jean Page, Luke Cage star Alfre Woodard, Iron Fist’s Jessica Henwick, and Hollywood icon Billy Bob Thornton.
Following several delays,The Gray Manfinallybegan filming back in March. The project marks one of Netflix’s biggest investments to date, with the streaming giant reportedly investing a huge amount inThe Gray Manin order to give the movie a budget upwards of $200 million.
The Gray Manwill also beNetflix’s latest forary into franchise filmmaking, with the platform hoping to spawn an action franchise. Of course, the Russo brothers are very much on board with this idea, with Joe Russo previously saying, “The intention is for it to be competitive with any theatrical and the ability to do with with Gosling and Evans is a dream for us. The idea is to create a franchise and build out a whole universe, with Ryan at the center of it. We have all committed to the first movie and that’s got to be great to get us to the second movie. These are master assassins and Gosling’s characters gets burned by the CIA and Evans' character has to hunt him down. We have a great working relationship with Netflix, and we go back almost 20 years with Scott Stuber. We formed AGBO to be an agnostic storytelling company, where we figure out the best platform. We think Netflix is the perfect place for this film.”
Joe Russo has also teased Chris Evans' leap from The First Avenger and Marvel’s greatest hero to the role of villain saying, “He’s a really unique character, and this is Evans as a villain so it’s a really interesting character and I think he’s going to get to flex quite a bit in this role.“The Gray Mandoes not yet have a release date but will be distributed byNetflix.
