Netflix is working on a sequel and a spinoff for The Gray Man, but the streamer should not rush to build a franchise around the movie just yet. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, The Gray Man stars Ryan Gosling as Sierra Six, a ghost agent who’s part of a covert CIA program that recruits inmates for dangerous assignments. Following a mission where he uncovers dark secrets about his superiors, the reluctant operative is forced to face off against Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans), a ruthless assassin hired by a corrupt CIA official, Carmichael (Regé-Jean Page) who kidnaps Six’s former boss (Billy Bob Thornton) and his niece, Claire (Julia Butters). Along the way, he's aided by another CIA operative, Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas), who is unwittingly pulled into the conspiracy.

The Gray Man is Netflix’s most expensive movie, and it was reported to have been a success for the streamer. Shortly after its release, it was announced that the movie would be expanded into a shared universe, starting with a sequel starring Gosling and a spinoff written by Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The Gray Man's ending laid the groundwork for an intriguing sequel, with Six rescuing Claire from a corrupt CIA officer and seemingly taking her under his wing. In terms of Netflix's shared-universe plan, the movie is based on The Gray Man book series by Mark Greaney, so the hopeful franchise has a lot of material to pull from. However, the streamer is not in a position where it should gamble possibly hundreds of millions of dollars on one IP just yet.

Related: The Gray Man's Biggest Unanswered Questions

Netflix has been losing subscribers while spending billions of dollars to sustain a steady stream of content. The strategy initially positioned the company as somewhat of an industry disruptor, but it's now put it in a precarious situation. Overall, consumers seem to be connecting more with services like Disney+, HBO Max, and Prime Video due to the established IP at their disposal. That's something Netflix lacks, and it's what the company has tried to change by investing in different types of projects, one of them being The Gray Man. Netflix is now counting on the film to be a new IP source, but that may not be ideal for the streamer.

Netflix Needs To Slow Down With The Gray Man

Russo Bros Compare Working On Comedies & Action Films Like Gray Man

The staying power of streaming releases is inherently different from theatrical ones; being readily available at no extra cost arguably impacts the longevity of their popularity. The Gray Man enjoyed a large viewership upon release, but given the somewhat fleeting impression of streaming originals, Netflix may be overestimating the movie's long-term popularity. Even with its 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, there's currently no feasible way to accurately gauge whether or not the film had enough of an impact in the pop culture zeitgeist to warrant a continuation, let alone a shared universe.

Furthermore, its popularity may not have stemmed from the property itself, but from the star power attached to it, which also puts into question how reliable crafting a franchise around its mythology is. Taking those two possible scenarios into consideration, a safer strategy for Netflix would be to develop The Gray Man sequel before any other projects, and use its critical performance and Netflix viewership data to accurately measure audience interest in the property. Such assessment would then allow the streamer to decide if moving forward with more sequels and spinoffs is warranted.

The Gray Man is fit for a continuation. The ending paved the way for a compelling storyline for Six and Claire that could mirror touching grizzled father-young daughter dynamics explored in films like Léon the Professional and Gifted and TV shows like the recent Obi-Wan Kenobi. The film also established different concepts capable of sustaining multiple projects, such as the Sierra program, the corruption within the CIA, and Carmichael's mysterious superior. On paper, The Gray Man series has the potential to succeed as a long-term story, but it may not have the audience to see it through. As such, Netflix needs to slow down and examine whether or not the property is worth the current financial commitment.

Next: The Gray Man: Biggest Changes From The Book