Hollywood hunksRyan GoslingandChris Evansare set to star in the Netflix blockbusterThe Gray Man, which will be the next movie from theRusso brothers.
Joe RussoadaptedMark Greaney’s 2009 novel with an assist fromAvengersscribesChristopher MarkusandStephen McFeely. Netflix has committed to a budget north of $200 million and hopes to launch a new franchise boasting a James Bond-level of scale according toDeadline, which broke the news.
The action thriller follows a former CIA operative turned freelance assassin named Court Gentry, who is also known as the Gray Man. Gosling will play Gentry, who is hunted across the globe by his former CIA cohort Lloyd Hansen (Evans).
The expectation is that Gosling will star in multiple films based on Greaney’s bestselling book series.Brad Pittwas originally set to star inThe Gray Manback when hisAd AstrahelmerJames Graywas slated to direct for New Regency. More recently, Sony was developing the project as a starring vehicle forCharlize Theron.
Though Deadline claims thatThe Gray Manwill be the most expensive Netflix movie ever made, I posit that it will be the most expensive film the streamer has ever greenlit, as multiple sources have indicated that the true cost ofThe Irishmanwas closer to $250 million, even if Netflix initially agreed to a budget of $180 million or so. Still, there’s no doubt thatThe Gray Manis an ambitious effort for the streaming service, which no doubt had to buy out the backend deals for Gosling, Evans and the Russos.
The Russo will produce under their AGBO banner along withMike Larocca, as well asJoe RothandJeff Kirschenbaum. They are hoping to start production in January in Los Angeles, though there will be plenty of international locations featured in the globe-trotting film.
“The movie is 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,” Anthony Russo told Deadline. “For those who were fans ofCaptain 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.”
“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," Joe Russo told Deadline. “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 character 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 withScott 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.”
The Russo brothers recently produced theChris Hemsworthaction movieExtractionfor Netflix, which quickly became the most-watched original movie in the streamer’s history. Joe Russo ishard at work writing the sequel, which will once again be directed bySam Hargrave. They’re also in business with Netflix on an adaptation ofExit Westthat will starRiz Ahmedand be produced in conjunction withBarack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions.
Next up for the Russos is the indie dramaCherrystarringTom Hollandas a young bank robber with PTSD. That film is currently being shopped for distribution. AGBO is also developing the global thriller seriesCitadelfor Amazon, which will starRichard MaddenandPriyanka Chopra, as well as a live-action version ofHerculesat Disney.
