The Gray Man: When is it released on Netflix? Who is in the cast? Everything you need to know about the spy action thriller

It's already been a great year for gigantic summer blockbusters with the return of Top Gun and Jurassic World, and Netflix are about to join the party with their explosive thriller The Gray Man.

Bringing together Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana De Armas and the creative team behind Avengers: Endgame, The Gray Man is being tipped to match the Bourne and Bond movies for international spy thrills and high-octane action.

The best new Netflix films for 2022

Here is everything you need to know about The Gray Man…

When is The Gray Man released?

Watch The Gray Man in selected UK cinemas from 15 July and on Netflix from 22 July.

The Gray Man cast

• Ryan Gosling - Plays Court Gentry / Sierra Six
• Chris Evans - Plays Lloyd Hansen
• Ana de Armas – Plays  Dani Miranda
• Jessica Henwick – Plays Suzanne Brewer
• Regé-Jean Page – Plays Denny Carmichael
• Julia Butters - Plays Claire Fitzroy
• Dhanush - Plays Avik San
• Alfre Woodard – Plays Margaret Cahill
• Billy Bob Thornton - Plays Donald Fitzroy
• Eme Ikwuakor - Plays Mr Felix
• Robert Kazinsky - Plays Perini
• Wagner Moura
• Callan Mulvey
• Scott Haze
• Michael Gandolfini
• Sam Lerner
• DeObia Oparei

The Gray Man cast - Meet the stars in the Netflix blockbuster

Ryan Gosling (Drive, La La Land, Blade Runner 2049) is The Gray Man, Court Gentry aka Sierra Six, and Chris Evans (Avengers: Endgame, Knives Out) is his psychopathic adversary with splendid facial hair, Lloyd Hansen.

Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo, Armageddon) plays Donald Fitzory, the handler who recruited Gentry, while No Time To Die star Ana de Armas plays Court’s only ally, agent Dani Miranda.

Bridgerton fans will also be excited to see Regé-Jean Page back on Netflix as CIA director Denny Carmichael.

What is The Gray Man about?

Netflix describes the film as a “global manhunt by international assassins”.

The movie is focused on two skilled CIA operatives going head-to-head after one of them – whose true identity is known to no one – uncovers dark agency secrets. His psychopathic ex-colleague places a bounty on his head and sets off on a mission to take him down.

The Netflix description adds:

Plucked from a federal penitentiary and recruited by his handler, Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton), Gentry (Ryan Gosling) was once a highly-skilled, Agency-sanctioned merchant of death. But now the tables have turned and Six is the target, hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans), a former cohort at the CIA, who will stop at nothing to take him out. Agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas) has his back. He’ll need it.

If you enjoy Bourne, Bond or John Wick, you're going to love The Gray Man.

Director Anthony Russo said: "It took nine years to develop mainly because we were busy with Marvel. I think every project could benefit from having a lot of time to think about it, invest in it, and evolve it. It certainly helped The Gray Man."

Director and writer Joe Russo added: "We love the ‘70s thrillers that we grew up on. Our father was a big fan of those so we had a steady diet of them and an emotional connection to them. We’re always chasing the sort of relentless excitement that we got from the first time we watched The French Connection - that energy, that compulsion, and the compressed time frame that makes you sit on the edge of your seat while you’re watching the story unfold.

"The Gray Man has a lot of these qualities. It’s going to push the audience to keep up. The film moves at an incredible pace and there’s a density to it, a layering. A lot happens in it very quickly."

The Gray Man - Watch Dhanush in action

Netflix India has dropped (12 July)  a thrilling fight sequence from the film starring Dhanush and Ryan Gosling coming to blows.

The movie is Dhanush's Hollywood debut and sees him playing an assassin, dubbed a "lethal force".

Is the Gray Man based on a book?

The film is based on New York Times bestselling book series The Gray Man by Mark Greaney.

The first Gray Man was described as “Bourne for the new millennium” and a “high-octane thriller that doesn’t pause for more than a second for all its 464 pages”.

If The Gray Man is a commercial hit, there is plenty of potential for numerous sequels.

The list of Gray Man books by Mark Greaney includes:

• The Gray Man (2009)
• On Target (2010)
• Ballistic (2011)
• Dead Eye (2013)
• Back Blast (2016)
• Gunmetal Gray (2017)
• Agent in Place (2018)
• Mission Critical (2019)
• One Minute Out (2020)
• Relentless (2021)
• Sierra Six (2022)
• Burner (2023)

Will there be a Gray Man sequel?

According to a report in Empire magazine, Netflix is already making plans to expand The Gray Man franchise with plans for a sequel, starring Ryan Gosling, and a prequel, following the story of Chris Evans' character Lloyd Hansen.

Where is The Gray Man filmed?

Locations used for the globetrotting spy thriller include the Château de Chantilly in France and Prague, Czech Republic.

The production also shot in Los Angeles, Thailand, Croatia, Austria and Azerbaijan.

It used an international crew that numbered well over 1,000 and production designer Dennis Gassner built 21 sets inside the 1,200,000 square-foot former Boeing manufacturing hangar in Long Beach.

In France, the production took over the historic Chateau de Chantilly, an actual castle and major French tourist attraction featuring an artificial lake and art museum.

In a heavily-trafficked section of Prague's Old Town, filming shut down a major square for 10 days.

Who is the director and creators of The Gray Man?

Anthony and Joseph Russo, better known as the Russo brothers, are directors and part of the writing and production team behind The Gray Man.

The brothers are best know for directing some of Marvel’s biggest films – including Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Endgame.

Joining the Russos are writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who both worked on the Chronicles of Narnia films, all the Captain America films and Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Blockbuster director and writing teams don’t come much bigger in 2022.

Watch The Gray Man in select UK cinemas 15 July and on Netflix, 22 July