Despite 300M Hours Viewed, Netflix’s $200M Action Franchise From The Russos Is Seemingly Dead After 1 Movie

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Joe and Anthony Russo are best known for directing some of Marvel’s biggest hits, like Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Endgame. However, their films outside of the Marvel universe haven’t been as well-received by critics. Since Endgame, they’ve made several movies that weren’t popular with reviewers, including the action film The Gray Man. While The Gray Man received mixed reviews (currently 46% on Rotten Tomatoes), there was talk of it becoming a new series for Netflix. Recent news suggests those plans are likely canceled.

At the premiere of their new film, The Bluff, Anthony Russo spoke with Screen Rant about the possibility of continuing The Gray Man franchise. While there aren’t any current plans in development, Russo indicated that the idea hasn’t been abandoned and that many people are still considering its future.

Will Netflix Revive The Gray Man Franchise?

With a cast featuring stars like Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas, The Gray Man quickly became one of Netflix’s most popular films, racking up almost 300 million hours of watch time. Netflix immediately announced plans for a sequel and a spin-off, but development has been slow. Since the movie’s release in 2022 – nearly four years ago – fans haven’t seen any further developments in the series. The directors recently explained the delay, saying they needed time to carefully plan the next chapter of the story.

With 15 novels in the Gray Man series available, the Russo brothers have plenty of material to work with when planning a potential sequel. However, their recent announcement that they’ll be directing both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars – huge, complex films – will keep them busy until the end of next year. After that, they’ll likely need some time to rest and refocus, which means The Gray Man 2 might not move forward for a while, depending on whether Netflix remains interested.

The streaming industry has changed dramatically in recent years. The initial boom, often called “peak streaming,” is over, and rising costs for making shows and movies played a big part. For example, the movie The Gray Man cost a huge $200 million to produce. While many people watched it, Netflix might hesitate to spend that much on a sequel. The film didn’t become a major cultural phenomenon, and as time passes, interest in more Gray Man movies could fade, leading Netflix to decide the investment isn’t worthwhile.

Although a sequel to The Gray Man isn’t currently in development, there’s still hope it might happen. People are still discussing it, which suggests the project hasn’t been abandoned. However, there’s no timeline for when it could be made. One possibility would be to reduce the budget and make a more cost-effective sequel. While the first film wasn’t a critical success, Ryan Gosling remains a popular lead actor, and his continued presence in high-profile projects like Project Hail Mary and a Star Wars film could generate interest in a follow-up if approached correctly.

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2026-02-19 18:43