Ana de Armas was one of the best things about No Time To Die, and her upcoming role in The Gray Man has the potential to top it. Directed by MCU alumnus the Russo brothers, The Gray Man reunites the pair with their Captain America: Civil War star Chris Evans. Ryan Gosling co-leads, and with a $200 million budget, the movie will be Netflix's most expensive ever. The streaming service is hoping that the combination of its interesting premise, talented filmmakers, and starry cast will result in another hit along the lines of Red Notice. With Ana de Armas co-staring, the odds are certainly in their favor.
The Gray Man sees Gosling's CIA protagonist forced to go on the run after uncovering dark Agency secrets, with Evans’ unhinged former colleague leading a global manhunt to take him down. Ana de Armas plays a supporting role in The Gray Man, assisting Gosling's character in his efforts to evade assassins after the bounty on his head. It’s a scenario familiar to the rising star, as she has previous experience playing a CIA agent in No Time To Die. Her character Paloma assists James Bond on his mission in Cuba to infiltrate a Spectre meeting, with explosive results.
Ana de Armas’ success in No Time To Die puts her in a good position to be even better in The Gray Man. While she was only onscreen for about 10 minutes in Daniel Craig’s final 007 outing, she did the most with that limited amount of time and was the standout new character in No Time To Die. De Armas quickly shows that she's more than capable of looking after herself, essentially leading Bond through the mission as opposed to following along as the defenseless Bond woman. Her action scenes were a particular highlight, with her eloquent yet deadly moves contrasting beautifully with her initial inexperienced demeanor. The Gray Man is no doubt also set to be full of action sequences, and if the Russo brothers have any sense, they'll have made sure that Ana de Armas is in the thick of it—for more than 10 minutes this time around.
Paloma was so popular in No Time To Die that there were even calls by fans for an Ana de Armas spinoff Bond movie. Unfortunately, it's unlikely to come to fruition as the Bond franchise has an aversion to spinoffs in general, and is set to reboot anyway now that Daniel Craig has vacated the role of 007. James Bond's loss however is The Gray Man's gain, as it gives the upcoming Netflix spy thriller the chance to really let Ana de Armas shine to her full potential. She's the third name on the cast list, which indicates that she'll have more screentime than she did in No Time To Die, giving her more opportunities to steal the movie from Gosling and Evans.
Both the Russos and Chris Evans’ non-MCU movies haven't achieved the same level of success as their Marvel hits. The Gray Man can hopefully turn this around for them, and Ana de Armas’ presence can only help. While her No Time To Die appearance will probably be her one and only James Bond movie, she’s nevertheless got an amazing cinematic future ahead of her.