The Russo brothers say ‘The Gray Man’ was so relentless it almost killed them

Having become the first (and so far only) filmmakers to helm four installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which culminated in the mammoth back-to-back shoot of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, you’d think Joe and Anthony Russo would be used to tough productions. And yet, the siblings say Netflix blockbuster The Gray Man could have been the death of them.

Of course, a globetrotting production with a $200 million budget that shot in the midst of a pandemic and was less reliant on CGI than their previous big budget experiences instantly made the espionage actioner an altogether different proposition, with the filmmaking duo admitting their exhaustion to Empire.

“This movie almost killed us. There are, like, nine action sequences, and it’s so relentless in that regard. It was relentless to make.”

Following on from the hopes star Ryan Gosling had about The Gray Man marking the beginning of a beautiful franchise, the Russos also outlined their intentions to squeeze at least several films out of the premise if they get the opportunity.

“We never want to jinx it. But we’re already thinking through where it goes from here. We like to build out worlds, and we would rather gamble on the upside and put the energy and time in to build out that universe prior to the release, so that the ideas are more germane and organic.

That’s how you build out a more complex mosaic narrative. We’re intimately involved in all of it. The focus is to make Gray Man 2. Our appetite is voracious and the intention is always to do more than we can.”

A star-studded epic packed full of big names hailing from the directors of several billion-dollar beloved favorites is a recipe for success if ever there was one, so we’re inclined to think The Gray Man will end up getting those sequels.