Despite 300M Hours Viewed, Netflix’s $200M Action Franchise From The Russos Is Seemingly Dead After 1 Movie

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo are arguably the most prolific filmmakers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having helmed acclaimed blockbusters such as Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Endgame. Unfortunately, they haven’t been nearly as successful — at least from a critical perspective — in their non-MCU endeavors. After Endgame, the brothers have directed a string of panned films, including the action thriller The Gray Man. Despite the mixed reception (46% on Rotten Tomatoes), there was hope The Gray Man could spawn a new franchise for Netflix. Based on the latest update, however, it sounds like those plans might be kaput.

Speaking with Screen Rant while at the premiere for the new film The Bluff (which the Russos produced), Anthony Russo discussed the future of the Gray Man franchise. He noted that there isn’t “any momentum news right now,” but all hope might not be lost. Anthony also said “there are definitely a lot of people still thinking about it.”

Will Netflix Revive The Gray Man Franchise?

Sporting a star-studded cast that included the likes of Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas (among others), The Gray Man is one of Netflix’s biggest movies of all time with nearly 300 million hours watched. The streamer wasted no time in announcing plans for a sequel and a spinoff, but things have been moving slowly on that front in the years since. The Gray Man came out in 2022, so it’s been four years since we’ve seen anything from this burgeoning franchise. The Russos addressed the long wait for the follow-up in 2024, implying the delay was because they needed time to figure out where to take the story next.

There are now 15 Gray Man books to draw from, so the Russos have a lot of source material to sift through when planning the next film. Of course, those 2024 comments were made months before it was announced the brothers would be returning to Marvel to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, two massively ambitious blockbusters that will keep the Russos occupied through the end of next year. The directors will probably want to take a little break to recharge their creative batteries afterwards, so it could be a while before The Gray Man 2 takes a meaningful step forward — assuming Netflix is still interested in it.

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It’s no secret that the streaming landscape is in a very different place now than it was even just a handful of years ago. “Peak streaming” has died, and skyrocketing production budgets contributed to that development. The Gray Man was not a cheap movie; it had a whopping $200 million price tag, and even though the film was successful in terms of viewership, it’s worth wondering if Netflix executives will be willing to sign that large of a check for the sequel. It would be one thing if The Gray Man had earned widespread acclaim, but it’s one of the Netflix originals that hasn’t left much of a pop culture footprint. As time goes on, the demand for more Gray Man films could decrease to the point where Netflix feels it’s not worth the investment.

While there isn’t any movement being made on The Gray Man 2 right now, it’s still encouraging that people continue to think about it. That suggests the project isn’t completely dead yet, though there also isn’t any indication of when it could come to fruition. Perhaps it would be easier to get the sequel off the ground if the Russos found a way to scale back on costs and lower the budget. The Gray Man was hardly a critical darling, but the would-be franchise still has a fan-favorite charismatic star at its center in Gosling, who continues to stay visible by appearing in highly anticipated projects like Project Hail Mary and Star Wars: Starfighter. There could be some interest in a follow-up if it’s handled properly.

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