Netflix has been open in admitting that the company desperately desires a marquee franchise that it can call its own, something that has the potential to reach the level of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars or Harry Potter.
While that hasn’t happened as of yet, the platform is doing a nice line in multi-film action sagas. On top of Red Notice becoming the platform’s most-watched original move ever, sequels to Chris Hemsworth’s Extraction and Charlize Theron’s The Old Guard are in the works, while Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead has prequels, sequels and animated companion pieces in development.
The next major blockbuster hope for Netflix is The Gray Man, the literary adaptation being directed by Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame‘s Russo brothers. The siblings have already admitted that it’s only the beginning of an entire series, with Netflix boss Scott Stuber admitting to Variety that he sees it as the equivalent of James Bond or Jason Bourne.
“It’s a big globe-trotting, fun espionage movie. [We] hope to be our Bond or Bourne kind of movie. Ryan and Chris, their dynamic is great. Their chemistry is great. Ana de Armas is great in the film. They’ve just got a really terrific cast. That’ll be one of our big summer movies next year.”
That’s a lofty ambition to have for The Gray Man, but one that’s comfortably within reach when we’re talking about a $200 million effort with Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling facing off as a disgraced CIA agent and his former colleague tasked with hunting him down and bringing him to justice.
