Netflix announces $200 million spy thriller starring Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling

Netflix has announced its most financially ambitious feature film so far that would see Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling join forces for a spy thriller directed by the Russo Brothers, reports Deadline.

At a budget upward of $200 million, Netflix is looking to produce "The Gray Man" in a bid to create a new franchise on the same scale as James Bond, according to the Deadline report.

The script has been written by Joe Russo along with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, while the film will be produced by Russo Brothers and Mike Larocca, along with Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum. 

Based on the 2009 novel by Mark Greaney, "The Gray Man" will revolve around a freelance assassin and former CIA operative named Court Gentry. Ryan Gosling is reportedly portraying Gentry in the film.

Chris Evans will play Lloyd Hansen, a former cohort of Gentry at the CIA, and the two will be involved in a deadly duel in the film.

Anthony Russo told Deadline that the film will be like "moving into that territory in more of a real-world setting" for those "who were fans of Captain America: Winter Soldier", as the film will portray "two great actors representing two different versions of the CIA, in what it can be, and what it can do".

The scale of the film is intended to be competitive with any theatrical release, Joe Russo told Deadline.

The idea is to create a franchise and build out a whole universe, with Ryan at the center of it, Joe also said, adding that Netflix is the perfect place for this film.

The project was developed years back with Brad Pitt to star in it, but it got stalled. The Russo Brothers, however, quietly continued developing it over the years.

Netflix is also working on a sequel to the AGBO-produced action film "Extraction" starring Chris Hemsworth, which became the most watched Netflix original movie of all time. Sam Hargrave will be returning as director and Joe Russo is writing the script for the sequel.

Meanwhile, Netflix's earnings report saw it add 10 million subscribers during the pandemic.