The Gray Man is Netflix’s biggest film so far, with a budget of $200 million. Sadly, it wasn’t half as good as it should have been. The biggest names in the industry came together, yet the experience was so underwhelming.
But, that is an always-on conversation we can have on another day. This article is about what exactly the ending of The Gray Man means for the film and a possible franchise.
The Gray Man’s climax is open-ended, and there could be a sequel. We still don’t know who Carmichael’s boss is and who the “old man” is.
The Gray Man is an adaptation of a novel by Mark Greaney. The film does follow its source material to a great extent but doesn’t entirely wrap its story up.
At the end of the movie, Six is successfully able to rescue Claire from the CIA. Lloyd is shot dead by Suzanne Brewer, and she creates a story such that her and Denny Carmichael’s names are clear. Dani, who was on Six’s side, is still working with the CIA. But we still have questions.
In the beginning, when Denny hires Lloyd, he says that heads will roll if the “old man” finds out. We don’t know who this ‘old man’ is. Furthermore, in a different scene, it is revealed that someone above Carmichael is covering for him and having his back.
We don’t know if these two mysterious figures are the same person. In the book, author Mark Greaney reveals that the higher-up personnel is Kaz. He handles Saudi Intelligence from Washington DC and uses Carmichael for his own motivations, to the extent that even Denny isn’t aware of it.
So, right now, it does look like Denny Carmichael is the big bad guy, but if there’s a sequel, we just might find out about the actual villain. The Russo Brothers, in an interview, mentioned how they like to build a larger narrative that they can always go back to if it needs to be fleshed out into a new project.
Netflix would most likely take this call based on the response to the film, and right now, it’s not looking good. Now that the ending is explained, let me digress a little.
Previously, the streaming giant had released The Red Notice starring Gal Gadot, Dwayne Johnson, and Ryan Reynolds. The biggest names we know today were in this action-thriller-heist movie, and yet not one frame in the film was as exciting as it should have been.
I draw this comparison because Red Notice was Netflix’s biggest film before The Gray Man. Clearly, there seems to be a pattern being followed by the platform, and it needs to be broken.
If The Gray Man has a sequel, I hope it’s much better than this one. For that, we’ll need an airtight script that truly engages the audience.
About The Gray Man
The Gray Man is an American action thriller film directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who both produced the film with Mike Larocca, from a screenplay co-written with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Mark Greaney.
The film follows the story of one CIA agent Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling) who uncovers his organization’s dirty secrets and now is on the run to escape from the hands of his former colleague Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans).
Produced by the brothers’ company, AGBO, the film is set to commence a newly developed franchise based on the novel and stars Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans in the lead roles, marking the fifth time the brothers’ collaboration with Evans following the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie will also star Indian filmstar Dhanush.
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