The Gray Man doesn’t hit Netflix until July but we’re already getting news that a prequel and sequel are in development on the pricey Netflix endeavor.
Empire Magazine reports that a prequel focusing on Chris Evans’ Lloyd Hansen is in the works from Deadpool screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Hansen is the villainous character played by Evans in The Gray Man and, if all works out, those prequels could very become their own franchise.
Also in development is a direct sequel to The Gray Man from writer Stephen McFeely. Given the fact that Netflix pumped $200 million+ into the first film’s budget, it makes sense that they want to try to franchise what they have. I’m assuming that Netflix has seen enough of The Gray Man to feel like it has the potential for great things down the road.
Based on the 2009 novel of the same name and helmed by The Russo Brothers, Netflix describes the film by saying, “The Gray Man is CIA operative Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling), aka, Sierra Six. Plucked from a federal penitentiary and recruited by his handler, Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton), Gentry was once a highly-skilled, Agency-sanctioned merchant of death. But now the tables have turned and Six is the target, hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans), a former cohort at the CIA, who will stop at nothing to take him out. Agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas) has his back. He’ll need it.”
At $200 million+, The Gray Man is the most expensive film ever made by the streamer. In addition to Evans, Gosling, and de Armas, the film also stars Regé-Jean Page, Billy Bob Thornton, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush, Wagner Moura, and Alfre Woodard.
Are YOU excited about what The Gray Man has to offer? Directed by The Russo Brothers, The Gray Man hits Netflix on July 22, 2022.