When Netflix’s latest spy thriller The Gray Man hit the streaming platform in July, all eyes were on Ryan Gosling who slipped into the shoes of the infamous Sierra Six, a CIA operative who fights to survive after the agency turns on him. The action-packed film was so well accepted by viewers that Netflix rushed to announce a sequel and a spin-off.
Ryan Gosling at the Center of The Gray Man Universe
Although Gosling has previously shied away from action movies, he recently shared in an interview that he was just looking for the right script to come along. And that’s exactly what happened with the Russo brothers’ The Gray Man. Not only that but he was also paired with Chris Evans as the villain. When talking about the film, Joe Russo said that it was extremely rare to get two giant actors like Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans to star alongside each other.
Fortunately for the Russo brothers, Evans was “at a point” where playing the villain was more entertaining to him, and that’s how the audience ended up watching “a Ryan Gosling versus Chris Evans movie.”
After the fantastic reception of the film, Netflix was quick to announce “a sequel with Ryan,” as well as one more script that we’ll soon find out more about. The Russo brothers also shared that The Gray Man was always intended to be a part of an expanded universe, and it seems like Ryan Gosling is at the center of it, at least for now.
An Intriguing Storyline
The synopsis of the first film is rather simple — the Gray Man, a.k.a. CIA operative Court Gentry, better known as Sierra Six, gets recruited by his handler from a federal penitentiary. In exchange for no jail time, he has to become a “highly-skilled, Agency-sanctioned merchant of death.” And so he does. Until a former cohort at the CIA (Chris Evans) is hired by someone within the Agency to take Gentry (Ryan Gosling) out.
But, it’s in that simplicity, great acting, and magnificent action sequences that viewers fell in love with. It seems like less really is more in the world of spy action movies.