Just when you thought the prologue of Kenneth Branagh’s mystery sequel Death on the Nile would be the only 2022 movie to give an origin story to a mustache, the latest issue of Empire Magazine has revealed that Joe and Anthony Russo’s The Gray Man will be following suit.
The Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame directors have hardly been shy in outlining their ambitious plans for an entire espionage-driven cinematic universe built out from July’s $200 million Netflix blockbuster, which would mark their second major franchise on the platform after Chris Hemsworth’s Extraction.
Ryan Gosling might take top billing in The Gray Man as Court Gentry, but it’s Chris Evans’ Lloyd Hansen who’ll be the first to get a solo spinoff. As part of the in-depth coverage of the film, Empire looks to the future to reveal a couple of tidbits regarding what’s next for the globetrotting action saga.
As well as a direct sequel being developed by Russo regular Stephen McFeely, it’s revealed that Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are in the midst of workshopping a spinoff for Evans’ bad guy and his wonderful facial furniture.
While it might sound as though the sibling filmmakers and producers are getting ahead of themselves by working on two additional features before the first has even been released, there’s really no other outcome besides The Gray Man blowing a hole in Netflix’s viewership charts based on the high concept premise, gargantuan budget, and oodles of star power on either side of the camera.
