The Gray Man 2 is on the way from Netflix - here's everything we know about the sequel's cast and release.
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo teamed up with star acting duo Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans in 2022 for The Gray Man, only their second directorial effort after the record-breaking worldwide phenomenon that was Avengers: Endgame.
Tied with Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson's Red Notice for Netflix's most expensive movie ever made ($200 million budget, per Movie Web), The Gray Man then became one of the streamer's biggest successes.
Although it only earned a 44% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it racked up a 90% Audience Score and still ranks among Netflix's top five most-watched original films in the streamer's history (per Movie Web).
When Is The Gray Man 2 Releasing?
Less than a week after The Gray Man debuted on Netflix in July 2022, Netflix confirmed The Gray Man 2 was officially in development.
However, the head of Netflix Film, Scott Stuber shed doubt on when the movie would be made, telling Collider in November 2023, "I think that's a maybe" when asked about the prospects of the film being made.
Joe Russo told Collider in April 2023 he was working on the script for The Gray Man 2, hinting that more information wasn't far away from being revealed:
"We’re in the middle of it right now. We’re in the middle of working on 'The Gray Man 2' script, so, again, everything is about the story. We are hard at work, sleeves rolled up, and more to come soon."
Currently, the Russos are hard at work directing their next movie for Netflix, The Electric Slate, which is set to debut on the streamer sometime in 2024.
Depending on that film's specific release date, should The Gray Man 2 be the Russos' next movie, it could be in the works for a release sometime in 2025.
Who’s Cast In The Gray Man 2?
While several important cast members from the first movie were killed off, including Billy Bob Thornton's Fitzroy and Chris Evans' Lloyd Hansen, The Gray Man 2 should bring back a few important players.
Ryan Gosling's Courtland Gentry, also known by his codename "Six," is already confirmed to return to action, and he will be out for blood after losing Fitzroy and finding out new dirty secrets about the intelligence world in which he's embedded.
Dhanush's Avik San is locked in for a comeback after Lloyd initially hired him to take out Six, as rumors have noted the Russos wrote the role specifically for him.
While unconfirmed for The Gray Man 2, Ana de Armas is likely to reprise her role as Dani Miranda, Six's unpredictable ally who works outside the system and is just as deadly as Gosling's hero.
On the opposite side of the coin will be Regé-Jean Page's Denny Carmichael, the Head Director of the CIA who takes charge of Six's Sierra team, although he wants to dismantle the entire operation after learning what Six is capable of.
Right alongside him will also be Jessica Henwick's Suzanne Brewer, who proved her prowess in the first film by killing Hansen and standing up to Carmichael as she seeks to end Six's winning streak.
What Will Happen in The Gray Man 2?
The end of the first film set up some exciting story developments for The Grey Man 2 after Hansen's death, particularly with Six escaping Brewer and Carmichael's custody after Dani cut a deal with the CIA leaders.
Six then proceeded to break Fitzroy's daughter Claire out of her predicament by taking out the hoard of guards surrounding her house, driving her away to safety before the credits rolled.
Based on that ending, the new movie should largely focus on Six's evolving relationship with Claire after her father's death while he simultaneously infiltrates the CIA's inner workings and finds out the truth about his Sierra team and the organization as a whole.
Additionally, fans of The Gray Man will also remember Mark Greaney's book series on which the film was based, with the second of the 11 books in the story likely to be the next one developed.
In that book, titled On Target, a man whom Six believed to be dead comes to him with a difficult kidnapping mission, which forces him to go back to the same CIA team that turned on him the way they did in the first film.
This puts him in the crossfire of both his former employers and former friends, and he finds himself entangled in a mission that threatens to take him out if he's not careful.
Additionally, the head of Netflix Film, Scott Stuber touched on the sequel in his previously mentioned interview with Collider, teasing that The Gray Man 2 would answer the question of "how do we spend time with this guy, Ryan Gosling."
The biggest thing for Gosling's return will be ensuring that fans see "what makes that character great" and looking at how to "extend that story:"
"When we talk about it, the advantage we have is we have incredible actors; they’re watchable, they’re unique. So, you know, Joe and Anthony [Russo] have talked about, 'If we go back to it, how do we spend time with this guy, Ryan Gosling,' who I think is incredible. I just watch what he’s doing right now, and I don’t know if there’s a better actor out there in terms of his range and what he’s accomplishing. The ability to have him in a franchise like that is huge, so we gotta really slow down and make sure, 'What makes that character great, and how do we really extend that story?'"
He also reflected on the first film and admitted that he and the team "probably put too much action in that movie," indicating that the sequel is sure to be "more character-driven, rather than action-focused:"
"I think we gotta get it right. You know, the guys would admit, they had the biggest theatrical hit of all time, and moving into streaming, they were aspirationally trying to do that for their own, like, 'How do we make the biggest thing of all time?' And we probably put too much action in that movie. There were too many action set pieces, and I think we should have slowed down a little bit on the character. Perhaps that means the follow-up film will be a little more character-driven, rather than action-focused—if it happens at all."
The Gray Man is now streaming on Netflix. As of now, The Gray Man 2 does not have an official release date.
