Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo are looking to start their very own franchise with The Gray Man, and judging by the first reactions, it sounds like the first installment will be a hit. The action-thriller stars Ryan Gosling as Court Gentry, a CIA black ops mercenary who accidentally uncovers dark agency secrets. He quickly becomes a primary target and finds himself hunted by a gang of international assassins and his psychopathic former colleague, Lloyd Hanson (Chris Evans).
Most who saw The Gray Man at a recent screening applauded the dynamic, well-constructed action sequences and bad-ass characters, with particular praise singled out for Indian actor Dhanush. Not everyone was so taken with the film, with Kyle Buchanan of The New York Times saying it’s Netflix’s emptiest star vehicle yet. You can check out a handful of first reactions to The Gray Man below.
With a budget of over $200 million dollars, The Gray Man is one of Netflix’s most expensive movies, but they’re already planning several more. In addition to a direct sequel set to be penned by Stephen McFeely, it’s also been reported that a prequel focusing on Chris Evans’ character is also in the works from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
The official synopsis for The Gray Man:
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.
The Gray Man will be released in select theaters on July 15th and will launch on Netflix on July 22nd.