Dhanush confirms return in ‘The Gray Man’ sequel

Just weeks after the release of Netflix’s The Gray Man, directors Russo Brothers had announced that a sequel and a spin-off to the actioner are in development. Now, Dhanush has confirmed that his character Avik San a.k.a The Lone Wolf will return in the upcoming sequel.

Dhanush shared a short audio clip on Twitter that has him informing Ryan Gosling’s Six that they are both looking for the same person and he will find him first and end him. Avik urges Six to stop looking and to not cross paths with him.

Towards the end of The Gray Man, Avik mysteriously disappears while Six is in the wind. However, we don’t see Denny Carmichael (Regé-Jean Page), the former corrupted CIA official who had joined hands with the late psychopathic mercenary Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) to kill Six, suffer any consequences. So is the man Avik referring to in the clip Carmichael? If that is the case, Avik and CIA agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas) might also have a reunion soon.

The news about Dhanush’s return in the sequel may not be a surprise since the Russo Brothers, in an interview with Insider, had confirmed the return of the character. “We’re fortunate enough to use Dhanush. We were not interested in him playing a one-off character who shows up just to be overcome by the lead in the film. He is as equally skilled and determined as Gosling is in the movie. He has a story that will allow him to come back into the narrative at some point — as his own hero.”

This has further fuelled speculations that the spin-off in development is centres on Avik San.

“We wanted to create a lot of tension around that character (Avik). The Gray Man doesn’t overcome him. Dhanush decides to let the conflict go on his own. This is the character that we saw best in The Gray Man. That’s what we know about him. For us, he’s very pregnant moving forward,” said the filmmakers.

The Gray Man co-writer Stephen McFeely will pen the script for the upcoming sequel, while the spin-off film will be written by screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese. The Russos and AGBO’s Mike Larocca will produce the sequel along with Joe Roth and Jeffrey Kirschenbaum for Roth Kirschenbaum Films.

All other details regarding the project are currently under wraps.