According to them, Extraction was a huge hit for Netflix. The streaming service says the action film, starring Chris Hemsworth and produced by Joe and Anthony Russo, is their biggest original movie ever. It was a massive success! A true game changer!
So it’s no surprise that Netflix wants more of what the Russos are selling. And, boy howdy, did they just land a big project. The Russos are set to direct The Gray Man for Netflix, with both Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans set to star.
The film will be based on the 2009 novel by Mark Greaney. Netflix sees this as the start of a new James Bond-like franchise and is intent to bring back Gosling for multiple sequels. To show how serious they are, they are throwing $200 million at the film, their biggest budget yet. The story will follow former CIA operative Court Gentry (Gosling) as he is hunted all over the world by his former cohort Lloyd Hansen (Evans). Just the basic plot alone sounds expensive. Are we sure $200 million will be enough?
The Gray Man has been floating around Hollywood for awhile, with Brad Pitt once set to star under James Gray’s direction. But this line-up sounds like the best one yet. This is the sort of blockbuster deal that would get any studio drooling, it’s a gigantic win for Netflix and stands to be their most successful film yet. It is just most evidence of how much they are willing to do to be the biggest name in town. They aren’t interested in small-budget features, they want to compete with the big boys. Extraction really got a fire lit under their ass and you can bet the next few years will be full of big Netflix movies.