Netflix has a habit of bringing out the kind of movies and television series that make you want to visit their locations. Whether it is Emily in Paris who has you dream-shopping its cobbled streets or you have a penchant for Stranger Things upside-down cafes, the streaming platform can both put us on the couch and make us want to get up! Below, we’re taking a peek at the locations of Netflix’s newest hit, The Gray Man.
“You want to make an omelette? You gotta kill some people,” the chiselled figure of Hollywood superstar Chris Evans snarls in the trailer for the latest Netflix showpiece, The Gray Man. Starring Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas and Billy Bob Thornton alongside the lead star, Netflix is going all-guns-blazing into the modern landscape of entertainment in an attempt to claw back profits from its streaming rivals.
Helmed by the filmmakers behind Avengers: Endgame, one of the top three highest-grossing movies of all time, brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, the movie looks to be one of this year’s most explosive releases. On the same vibe as the Mission: Impossible and James Bond series, The Gray Man is a globe-trotting adventure that follows a top CIA agent who is hunted down by his ex-colleague for uncovering agency secrets.
Taking to several locations around Europe, the leading characters of The Gray Man may not be quite as adventurous as other cinematic action stars, but they certainly know their way around an international airport. From the sandy beaches of California to several beautiful locations across Europe, let’s take a look at where the Russo brothers travelled to complete their new movie.
Visit the filming locations of The Gray Man:
Central Prague, Czech Republic
Using the central streets and intricate tramways of Prague would usually be a tricky task for any Hollywood film crew, however, for Joe and Anthony Russo, the pandemic actually helped them to utilise the stunning city scenery. Usually extremely crowded, the duo were able to make the most of the central capital space, filming an explosive sequence that involves a high-speed tram, without the hassle of the everyday general public.
Despite being a major Hollywood release from Netflix, the filmmakers behind the new action movie opted to use a sparing amount of CGI, deciding instead to shoot the action in the actual streets using real stunts. To do this they built an entire city square, including a fountain centre-piece, in the middle of the town, just so they could destroy the space as they saw fit, avoiding any damage to the historical city.
Speaking to Den of Geek, Anthony Russo explained, “It’s one of the most beautiful cities and is normally packed. But the fact that the city was emptier than usual actually helped us out in terms of the amount of real estate we were able to control and shoot”.
Long Beach, California, USA
No doubt using locations in Long Beach to give context to the stories of the two all-American action heroes that head up the latest Netflix action movie, it’s currently unknown where exactly the Russo brothers set up shop to film the project in California. A handy coastal location for countless Hollywood movies, such action movies as Michael Mann’s Heat and Jon Favreau’s Iron Man also used a similar spot in California.
Initially halting the production of the film in Long Beach after Covid-19 caused a whole host of problems in December 2020, Joe and Anthony Russo were eventually able to return to the location and complete filming.
Set for release on July 15th, we can’t wait to see where the high-octane Netflix action movie will take us.
Château de Chantilly, Chantilly, France
This iconic national heritage building, located 30 miles north of Paris, is a stunning piece of architecture that comprises two attached buildings, the Petit Château, which was built around 1560, and the Grand Château, which was destroyed in the French Revolution of the late 18th century, before being rebuilt in the 1870s. Now open to the public, the château houses an art gallery that features some of the finest paintings on the whole continent.
Well known across the world, the château has also hosted several film crews wishing to capture its unique architecture and stunning, pristine surroundings. In fact, the use of the location in The Gray Man doesn’t even mark the first time that it has been used for an action movie, with Roger Moore’s James Bond taking to the site in 1985 for the franchise flick A View for a Kill where it was used as the villainous lair of Max Zorin (Christopher Walken).
It’s unknown quite how the building will be used in The Gray Man, though you can be sure that it will be home to a dramatic shootout or intense macho conversation.
