Just a couple weeks after its theater premiere, Joe and Anthony Russo have announced that we’ll be meeting The Gray Man again. The Ryan Gosling-starring spy thriller — adapted from Mark Greaney’s novel series of the same name — has been greenlit to turn into a full-blown franchise over at Netflix, who are already developing a spin-off and a sequel.
Greaney’s 12th Gray Man novel is set to be published sometime next year, so there’s a lot of plot points to pull from when it comes to building out the on-screen adaptation. For the sequel, Gosling will reprise his role as Court “Six” Gentry, with the Russo brothers and Stephen McFeely returning to direct and write the script, respectively. While there’s not many public details yet about the spin-off, we do know Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese (Deadpool, Zombieland) are set to pen that screenplay.
“The audience reaction to The Gray Man has been nothing short of phenomenal,” the Russos wrote in a statement. “We are so appreciative of the enthusiasm that fans across the world have had for this film. With so many amazing characters in the movie, we had always intended for the Gray Man to be part of an expanded universe, and we are thrilled that Netflix is announcing a sequel with Ryan, as well as a second script that we’re excited to talk about soon.”
With a stacked cast that also included Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, Regé-Jean Page, Wagner Moura, Julia Butters, Dhanush, Alfre Woodard, and Billy Bob Thornton, The Gray Man marked Netflix’s most expensive film to date. Despite mixed reviews, it was a box office smash; it’s also exactly the type of easily-digestible content you can expect Netflix to prioritize right now, as they’ve recently announced they’ll be doing away with “vanity projects” like The Irishman.