The Russo Brothers on Marvel, The Gray Man and their new sci-fi project

Anthony Russo and Joe Russo’s CV is impressive. The brothers were involved in the cult series Community for several seasons, shot one of the best Marvel films to date with Captain America 2: The Return of the First Avenger and made themselves finally immortal with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

With The Gray Man is since July 22, 2022 Her next blockbuster is available on Netflix, chasing Ryan Gosling from one action scene to the next as a cleared-to-fire agent. We spoke to the Russo brothers about what’s actually the biggest Difference between an MCU shoot and the most expensive Netflix shoot ever is. And of course also about their upcoming projects.

The Russos are already having “concrete thoughts” about Part 2 of their Netflix blockbuster

Moviepilot: What are the biggest differences between shooting a blockbuster like Avengers: Endgame for Marvel and the most expensive Netflix film of all time?

Joe Russo: Both [sowohl Marvel als auch Netflix] are very supportive when it comes to creativity and just wonderful to work with. The biggest difference is that the Marvel Stuff is a merging of multiple stories are told collectively. Standing on its own, The Gray Man is an original story with a brand new character that has never been filmed before. As far as everything else is concerned, there really aren’t any differences. In the end you just make a film.

But The Gray Man is also a franchise, isn’t it?

Joe Russo: It has the potential to be because it’s based on a book series. I like telling stories in a universe. We have worked on various TV projects over the years. What we particularly like about it is that you can spend more time with the characters and delve deeper into them. This is interesting for us because we are a bit frustrated with the two-hour format. It’s so limiting, precisely because for the most part we’ve been telling longer-term stories – which includes the Marvel stuff.

Does that mean you’d like to do more The Gray Man movies? Or is that not an option right now?

Anthony Russo: Yes, that’s definitely something we’re thinking about. We’re not at the point where we can announce anything yet. We want to see first how the film is received by people. But we have already had very specific thoughts about how this story could continue.

For the stunts in The Gray Man, the directors had to rethink after years of Marvel experience

After all the superhero movies you’ve done, is it difficult to shoot action scenes that feel realistic for characters without superhuman abilities?

Anthony Russo: The rules are different, but the stakes are still high. It’s a matter of life or death, whether the character is a superhero or a normal person. It actually has us It was fun to play with completely different action rules. Shooting something that isn’t in the fantasy or sci-fi realm. We tried to keep it plausible. Only showing things that could happen in the real world. Of course it’s a bit over the top. The Gray Man is an extraordinary character who has outstanding abilities, but he’s still set in the real world.

Joe Russo: We must obey the laws of physics.

Was there a scene where you thought: This might be too unrealistic for this film?

Joe Russo: In the end it’s a movie. That means we are always at the limit of plausibility. The character doesn’t do anything that goes against the laws of physics. He’s definitely very lucky when it comes to survival.

The Russo brothers’ next Netflix project is a sci-fi movie – starring Stranger Things star

When it comes to new projects, is there any pressure to top your past successes? Or don’t you think about that at all?

Anthony Russo: We see it this way: Each film is a unique opportunity and something completely different from the others. That’s why it’s hard to compare them. At least for us. At The Gray Man we have a great story, great characters, a great cast, a crew that are the best in the world at what they do. That’s the kind of energy that drives us forward. We focus on having this one moment to create something – and The Gray Man is what came out of it.

Is there any kind of project you would like to do in the future?

Joe Russo: There’s a lot we’d still like to tell you. But we Russos only ever think from project to project. We’ve been doing it this way since the beginning of our career. In October we’re starting work on a new story, The Electric State, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, set in and about the ’90s about an alternate universe. We’re really looking forward to it because it’s going to be very different from anything we’ve done before.

Podcast film review: Is The Gray Man worth it?

Is expensive always the same as good? We clarify this question with our colleagues from the FILMSTARTS podcast on screen love and talk in detail about the most expensive Netflix film of all time: The Gray Man.

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Which Russo movie do you like best?