How does ‘The Gray Man’ ending set up for a sequel?

Netflix‘s newest action blockbuster arrived with The Gray Man landing on the streaming platform last week. The film has not been out for that long and Netflix has already announced that The Gray Man will be getting a sequel as well as a spinoff, with the Russo brothers returning to helm the sequel.

So let’s take a look at where The Gray Man left off and how they left threads open for the sequel.

How does The Gray Man end?

The Gray Man stars Ryan Gosling as Court Gentry, who is also known as black ops CIA operative, Sierra Six. After finding data that proves one of his higher-ups — Denny Carmichael, played by Regé-Jean Page — has been corrupt, Six goes on the run to take him down. Unfortunately for him, Carmichael hired Lloyd Hansen, played by Chris Evans, a mercenary who was proven too psychopathic for the CIA, to hunt him down.

Hansen kidnapped Claire Fitzroy, the niece of Donald Fitzroy, Six’s former boss, and a child Six cared deeply about. Together with Dani Miranda, played by Ana de Armas, Six manages to rescue Claire. Just as Hansen has Six cornered, Carmichael’s underling Suzanne Brewer, played by Jessica Henwick, shoots Hansen. She killed Hansen to pin everything on him, diverting the eye of the CIA from her and Carmichael. Six is taken into custody as Brewer informs him that his cooperation is the only way she can guarantee Claire’s safety. Six manages to break out of custody and free Claire from where she was being kept.

We did not get a solid answer as to what exactly Carmichael was up to and for whom he was working. So that could be where the second film in the series could go. The sequel could also follow Six on the run from the CIA as he cares for Claire. The Gray Man was based on a book of the same name by Mark Greaney. The book is part of a series, which is still releasing. The film was based on the story from the first book so the second film could always follow the story of the second book On Target. On Target sees someone who Six thought was dead return and he tasks Six with a kidnapping. The film could loosely follow the events of that book, but it will most likely follow the characters introduced in Netflix’s first outing. 

One thing is for sure, The Gray Man won’t mark the end for Sierra Six, even though his ending was quite neat. Maybe the film will spare him and Claire, following Ana de Armas’ character instead. 

The Gray Man is currently available to stream on Netflix.