Call it gray, grey, or some blend of black-and-white Spy Vs. Spy shenanigans: Netflix’s super expensive new thriller The Gray Man has a lot going for it. It’s directed by the brothers behind the current highest-grossing film of all time, and stars Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans as warring former CIA colleagues in a global game of cat and mouse.
The Gray Man
Whether you’ll fork out the dosh to see it in cinemas or just catch it a few weeks later as part of your Netflix subscription might depend on the facts below. We’ve singled out 12 must-know details behind this thrilling production, from the stellar cast to the Russo’s cinematic universe addiction.
1. It’s the most expensive Netflix movie ever, with a budget of $200 million
The world’s biggest streaming service is going through an economic rough patch, losing some subscribers apparently as a result of high competition in the streaming landscape. But that’s only come out in the year since filming wrapped on The Gray Man, the most expensive Netflix Original yet.
“We couldn’t be more fortunate to work with the cast that we got on this one, and it’s important because it’s a dense world filled with a lot of unique characters”, Joe and Anthony Russo claimed for the reason behind that presumably expensive star cast. “We needed a cast at this level to pull off the vision for the world we were creating.”
2. We can’t wait to see Gosling go from Gray Man to Pink Man
It’s wild that the Internet’s Boyfriend Ryan Gosling hasn’t made a movie since 2018, when he played Neil Armstrong in First Man. Luckily Gosling has a few more films in the pipeline after The Gray Man marks his return to lead roles. Namely, Barbie.
Early production photos of Gosling as a platinum-bleached, neon-wearing Ken in Greta Gerwig’s doll dramedy look totally rad. They’re also a huge leap from his grizzled goatee spy guy Court Gentry here. The guy and his follicles got range!
3. It’s based on Mark Greaney’s novel series
You might not have heard of Greaney, but you’ll definitely know Tom Clancy: Greaney collaborated with Clancy on the final novels written in the bestselling author’s lifetime, continuing the Jack Ryan character after Clancy’s death in 2013.
Memphis thriller writer Mark Greaney already sells lots of books. But he'll probably sell many times more after THE GRAY MAN with Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling – a $200 million Netflix adaptation of Greaney's first novel – debuts this month: https://t.co/6tTWJohLt8 pic.twitter.com/BQkLUH7QRb
— John Beifuss 〽️ (@JohnBeifuss) July 5, 2022
A prolific dude, Greaney has written eight sequels to the original novel The Gray Man, the most recent being 2021’s Relentless with two new books coming out this year and in 2023. And it seems Greaney’s time in Hollywood won’t end there: Michael Bay is adapting the author’s audiobook Armored for the screen too.
4. The globe-trotting story goes from the US to France and the Czech Republic
That big budget allowed the Russos and their celeb cast to film stateside in Long Beach, California, France’s Château de Chantilly, and in Prague, where Michael Gandolfini joined the gang for his anticipated scenes.
The Russo Brothers explained in a geeky interview for Netflix that the movie’s passport-punching locations were motivated by the character’s terrifying competence. “When you get a manhunt going where Ryan Gosling is on the run from somebody like Chris Evans, who can hunt him anywhere, you cover a lot of ground fast. Of course that provides us with an amazing opportunity to find these great set-piece locations.”
5. Mission: Impossible head honcho Christopher McQuarrie was initially signed on
Since The Gray Man novel came out in 2009, talks of a film adaptation have involved a few different stars and action directors. Originally, Ad Astra director could’ve had the perfect job for his name, with Brad Pitt a potential to play Court Gentry. Then Tom Cruise’s favourite guy Christopher McQuarrie was considered.
6. …and Charlize Theron was going to play a gender-swapped lead at one point!
But finally the Russo Brothers were confirmed as the screenwriters and directors of the project for Netflix. Their first choice to play Gentry? Furiosa herself Charlize Theron, in a badass female version of the character.
Ultimately, though, we all could’ve done worse than Ryan Gosling. The baby goose probably has some years of pent-up blockbuster action man material he’s yearning to let out.
7. Chris Evans is playing a stache-twirling villain again (hooray!)
The last time former Captain America Evans went bad was for Knives Out, but he’s also been great as self-referential movie star assholes in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and even Don’t Look Up. Here his character’s a sociopathic ex-colleague of Gosling’s, hunting the poor guy around the globe after placing a massive bounty on his head.
Evans reckons a large part of his character Lloyd Hansen’s evil comes through in his distinctive facial hair: “the second that we cut that moustache, I was like, ‘Oh, there he is, there’s this psycho.'”
8. Bollywood fans will tune in for Dhanush’s Hollywood debut
Check out the YouTube comments on The Gray Man‘s trailers and you might not recognize the main name fans are buzzing about. Tamil sensation Dhanush is making his big English-language debut in this new film, preparing for a new level of international stardom.
Basically, this film is packed with familiar and burgeoning famous faces: Alfre Woodard and Billy Bob Thornton appear as stern government handlers, and Wagner Moura and Aussie talent Callan Mulvey will make formidable opponents for Gosling. Maybe Dhanush will even have time to bust out a song or two: his tune “Rowdy Baby” is the only Indian song to break one billion views on YouTube.
9. It’s Regé-Jean Page’s first big cinema role since he left Bridgerton
Talk about a breakout. British-Zimbabwean hunk Page went from who to whoa after stealing the show as the love interest of Bridgerton‘s first season, to the point where he quit the ongoing series to accept all the film offers that flooded in.
As The Gray Man‘s Denny Carmichael, Regé-Jean Page will break out on the big screen this time, before appearing in Dungeons and Dragons film Honour Among Thieves next year.
10. Ana de Armas will get more action after her too-short role in No Time To Die
However you felt about the last Bond movie, there was one clear standout to fans and critics. Ana de Armas only had a short cameo role as foreign agent Paloma, quickly kicking ass with Daniel Craig in Cuba. Flicks’ review from Lillian Crawford claimed that it was “the film’s greatest missed opportunity that she’s only on screen for approximately 12 minutes.”
Now, as Gosling’s sole helper Dani Miranda, Armas flaunts another sharp-as-hell haircut and surely the combat skills to back it up. And speaking of 007…
11. The Gray Man made Jessica Henwick want to be a Bond girl
British star Henwick is seeing her star gradually rise after kickass roles in The Matrix Resurrections and Game of Thrones. But she wasn’t really into the spy genre until seeing the staggering effort and expense put in The Gray Man, where she plays a “quiet and stressed” bad guy.
In an interview with Vogue, Henwick complained that “a lot of spy films feel like they’re from another era and that’s not the case with this.” When asked, though, if she’d be keen to sign up as a 007 sidekick, she was enthusiastic—she’s “a big fan” of Daniel Craig after working with him on the Knives Out sequel Glass Onion. Who’s gonna break it to her that his Bond bit the dust in his last movie?
12. You’ll recognise the movie’s great kid actor Julia Butters
One of those child actors who seemingly came out of the womb with a preternaturally mature sense of drama and comedy, Julia Butters was terrific as Leo DiCaprio’s precocious co-star on Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood. I Think You Should Leave fans should also remember her from the Tammy Craps sketch. Mmm, Macanudos…
Promo pics of The Gray Man show Gosling’s grizzled agent at a dinner table with Butters. Her place in his life should raise the stakes even higher, giving him something important to protect as he’s racing around the world to evade Evans.
13. Netflix is hoping to turn The Gray Man into a franchise
The Russos already had such huge success combining twenty film’s worth of characters into a box-office crushing cinematic universe extravaganza. They must be forming a bit of a habit, hoping to flesh out Greaney’s books into countless successful titles for Netflix.
The streaming service has already planned out some sequels and prequels apparently, with Evans’ villain Hansen apparently taking centre stage in the first prequel. Seems we’ll be watching every shade of The Gray Man on our Netflix homepage for some years to come, then.
