In a recent interview, the Russo brothers revealed why they chose to give more prominence to Dhanush’s character in The Gray Man. The directing duo talked about their experience working in India during Extraction, for which they acted as producers, and how that opened their eyes to the immensity of the Indian film industry. They went on to talk about how India has a wealth of untapped talent in its diverse film industry and how that deserves to be exposed to the global audience.

While elaborating on their decision to not kill off Dhanush’s character Avik San, Joe Russo says “He’s one of the greatest action stars in the film and we’re not interested in him playing a one-off character who shows up just to be overcome by the lead. He is as equally skilled and determined as [Ryan] Gosling is in this movie and he has a story that will allow him to come back into the narrative at some point as his own hero.” Anthony Russo adds to the point by saying “The Gray Man (played by Ryan Gosling) doesn’t overcome him. Dhanush decides to let the conflict go on his own. So this is the character that we saw, best the gray man.

Interestingly, shortly after the interview, earlier today, an official announcement regarding a Gray Man spinoff with Dhanush’s character Avik San (codenamed The Lone Wolf) was released by the actor himself. It was a voice clip of Avik San sending a warning message to, what seems to be, a fellow assassin.