After nearly two years of anticipation, the first footage of Netflix’s upcoming action thriller, The Gray Man, has finally dropped. It has also been revealed that the film will be receiving a limited theatrical release beginning on July 15, a full week before hitting the streaming platform on July 22.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas, Netflix has described this as a “worldwide manhunt”.
Co-writing the screenplay along with Joe Russo are Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. In fact, this is the fifth time Markus and McFeely will be collaborating with the Russo Brothers — the duo wrote the screenplays for the MCU films Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, all of which were directed by the Russo Brothers.
With a budget of upwards of $200 million, The Gray Man has a lot to live up to, as it’s said to go down as the most expensive film ever made by Netflix. The Russo Brothers’ AGBO company, which has films such as this year’s critically acclaimed hit Everything Everywhere All at Once under its banner, will be producing the film as well.
The Gray Man looks like a true Russo Brothers film
While the trailer is very action-heavy and doesn’t reveal too much exposition behind the international chase, the real highlights of the footage for me showcase the true filmmaking forte of the Russo Brothers.
The stunts and action set-pieces are very reminiscent of 2014’s The Winter Soldier and the Russo Brothers don’t shy away from the grounded hand-to-hand combat that has been praised in their previous films. I think it’s safe to say this movie won’t be a slow burn.
Even other AGBO films such as 21 Bridges and Extraction (also written by Joe Russo) have a similar tone involving the structure of a one-man “beat-the-clock” type story beat.
The Gray Man trailer pits Gosling against Evans
Upon first watching the trailer, I got huge “spy-vs.-spy” type vibes. Former CIA agent Count Gentry aka Sierra Six (Gosling) is said to be the most skilled assassin and is now referred to as The Gray Man. It seems as if Lloyd Hansen (Evans) has put a bounty on his head and will try to take him out by any means necessary.
As for Ana de Armas’ character, Dani Miranda, she finds herself in the midst of this espionage chase. Hidden Remote’s very own Diana Nosa described it best — The Gray Man is a cat-and-mouse game.
Beyond even the trailer itself, It seems as if this film is being marketed as a “pick a side” type flick by Netlfix. (Yes, very reminiscent of the Captain America: Civil War days.)
The Russo Brothers themselves have taken to Twitter asking fans to choose whose side they’re on. Even so, Twitter has been promoting the hashtags “#TeamGrayMan” and “#TeamLloyd”. Both hashtags are now trending on the site.
Are you team Gosling or Evans? Let us know in the comments below!
The Gray Man hits Netflix on July 22.
The Gray Man: The biggest takeaways from the trailer
Source: Pinoy White Knights
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