A little over a year ago, seven months after his final Captain America performance in Avengers: Endgame, Chris Evans appeared in the modern whodunit Knives Out. Among Evans’ costars in the Rian Johnson-directed flick was Blade Runner 2049’s Ana de Armas, and word’s come in that these two will be collaborating again in the new future. Where will the reunion take place? On Evans’ next Netflix movie, The Gray Man.
According to Deadline, Ana de Armas has been tapped to join The Gray Man’s main cast, meaning she’ll not only be acting opposite Chris Evans again, but will also be working with Ryan Gosling. This is the second instance of the Netflix movie serving as a platform for Evans to reunite with familiar faces, as The Gray Man is being directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who worked with Evans in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Russos also wrote the script, with fellow MCU collaborators Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely recently polishing it. No details were provided on who de Armas will be playing, although those who’ve read the original Gray Man novel by Mark Greaney may be able to ascertain her character by flipping through its pages again.
For those who haven’t seen Knives Out, Chris Evans starred as Hugh Ransom Drysdale, the spoiled grandson of Christopher Plummer’s Harlan Thrombey, the wealthy novelist whose death is investigated by Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc. Ana de Armas starred as Marta Cabrera, Harlan’s nurse who is unable to lie without vomiting. I won’t spoil the movie, but Ransom and Marta share quite a few scenes together in Knives Out, so it’ll be interesting to see how much screen time Evans and de Armas share in The Gray Man.
The Gray Man marks Ana de Armas’ second Netflix movie, following The Night Clerk, Sergio and The Wasp Network, all of which were released in 2020. Besides Knives Out and her time as Joe in Blade Runner 2049, de Armas’ other notable credits include War Dogs, Hands of Stone and The Informer. The actress’ other upcoming movies include No Time to Die (which saw her reuniting with Daniel Craig to play Paloma, a CIA agent assisting James Bond) and Deep Water.
Just like the original book, Netflix’s The Gray Man’s eponymous character is Court Gentry, an ex-CIA agent who now earns a living as a mercenary. Ryan Gosling will bring him to life, while Chris Evans is playing Lloyd Hansen, Court’s former co-worker who has now been tasked to hunt him across the globe. Once upon a time, The Gray Man was a project being tackled by Ad Astra collaborators Brad Pitt and James Gray, but following their exit, it eventually made its way to the Russo Bros. The Gray Man was also once in development at Sony Pictures, but Netflix acquired it this past summer.
Netflix has been churning out its most expensive movies in the last couple years, with The Irishman once holding the #1 spot with its reported $159 million budget, followed by the upcoming Red Notice, 6 Underground and Outlaw King, to name a few. Now The Gray Man is slated to be Netflix’s biggest-budgeted movie yet, with upwards of $200 million being funneled into the production. Just like how the original Gray Man novel spawned a book series, the plan is for the film adaptation to start a franchise.
We here at CinemaBlend will keep you apprised of more news concerting The Gray Man, including additional castings. In the meantime, keep track of what Netflix has already delivered this month and what’s still to come in December with our comprehensive lineup.
