The Gray Man directors Anthony and Joe Russo compare Chris Evans’ villain in the film to his previous role as Captain America. After helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, the Russo Brothers’ next project, The Gray Man, is set to release later this month. Based on the book of the same name from author Mark Greaney, The Gray Man follows Six (Ryan Gosling), a skilled CIA operative who is forced to go on the run from a team of international assassins after discovering dark agency secrets.
Starring opposite Gosling is Evans as villain Lloyd Hansen, Six’s former colleague who puts a bounty on his head. The Gray Man marks the fifth collaboration between Evans and the Russos, with the directing duo having gotten the idea to cast Evans to play the villain as far back as Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While much remains unknown about Evans’ villain, a short clip from The Gray Man recently teased an action-packed confrontation between him and Gosling’s character. The Russos have also previously commented on Evans’ role in The Gray Man, joking that they turned Evans from “America’s Ass to America’s a–hole,” referencing a line from Avengers: Endgame.
In a new interview with GQ, the Russo Brothers elaborate further on Evans’ villain, explaining the ways in which the character differs from Captain America. As it turns out, the character is essentially the polar opposite of Steve Rogers, possessing none of the positive qualities the superhero is known for. Where Captain America is “understated and selfless,” Hansen is big and loud and driven by his ego. Check out the Russos’ full comment below:
“We wanted to find something for [Chris Evans] that allowed him to use different colors. And, certainly, Lloyd Hansen, his character in The Gray Man, is about as far as you could possibly get from Captain America. For as controlled and understated and selfless as Captain America is, Lloyd Hansen is the biggest, loudest, ego-driven sociopath you can come across.”
Captain America is, consistently, the character in the MCU who chooses to do the right thing above everything else. His desire to always do good and be good essentially defines his entire personality. The Russos’ comment suggests that audiences may be in for a very different turn from Evans, with his The Gray Man villain essentially being a loud and brash bully, something Captain America would have no patience for. Although Evans is no stranger to playing villains after his role in Knives Out in 2019, The Gray Man seems to take this to a whole other level.
Initial reviews for The Gray Man have been mixed, but MCU fans will surely find it interesting to see Evans take on a role that is so drastically different from his performance as Captain America. Despite the unsavory nature of his character, trailers and promotional clips have teased that Evans will have some exciting action sequences akin to the more grounded action in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. With The Gray Man now only about a week away, fans don’t have too much longer to wait before they get to compare Evans’ new villain to Captain America for themselves.
Key Release Dates
The Gray Man
Release Date:2022-07-15
