The Russo Bros. Say The Gray Man Action Sequences Almost Killed Them

Working hard or hardly working? In the case of the Anthony and Joe Russo, the director brothers behind some of your favorite Marvel movies (I mean, maybe not, but statistically one of you has to think "Avengers: Infinity War" or "Avengers: Endgame" is the best one), the answer is definitely working hard. In fact, those boys are working so hard on their upcoming Netflix spy film "The Gray Man" that they feel like it's grinding their hearts to a pulp and turning their brains to mush.

Ok, that's not exactly what they said, but it was way more fun to type. 

In a recent interview with Empire about "The Gray Man," the Russo boys admitted that jumping straight from "The Avengers" into another action-oriented film has been challenging. Especially one with so many damn action scenes. "This movie almost killed us," explained Joe. There are, like, nine action sequences, and it's so relentless in that regard. It was relentless to make."

That sure does sound like a lot of action sequences! The Russo's went on to explain that they've been using their time directing "The Gray Man" to brush up on their Jigsaw skills, making sure each of their characters' abilities shines while fighting through their worst fears. As Anthony explains:

"We're very character-oriented, Joe and I. We start all of our exploration of action through character ... How do we test who this character is? How do we trap them in the worst possible place, like in the airplane sequence. That's a very vulnerable place for that character to be in, and it shows you how vigilant he is, and how disciplined he is."

Boy, do they have some interesting characters to work with. "The Gray Man" stars Ryan Gosling as a CIA mercenary named Courtland Gentry (who also goes by the name Sierra Six) who is being pursued by the sadistic assassin Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) after Gentry learns a little too much. Besides the cat and mouse game between Gosling and Evans, the film also has a suite of hot supporting actors, including Ana de Armas ("Knives Out"), Billy Bob Thornton ("Fargo"), Regé-Jean Page ("Bridgerton"), and Julia Butters ("Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood").

Despite the hardships, the Russo brothers are clearly gluttons for punishment. In the same interview, they made it clear that they have no interest in taking a break after this movie. "The focus is to make 'Gray Man 2,'" said Joe. "Our appetite is voracious and the intention is always to do more than we can."

"The Grey Man" will premiere in theaters on July 15 and drop on Netflix on July 22, 2022.