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Warning: SPOILERS for The Gray Man

If Sierra Six (Ryan Gosling) and Claire Fitzroy (Julia Butters) return for The Gray Man 2, it could be the equivalent of the sequel that Natalie Portman never made. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, The Gray Man is the biggest action movie ever on Netflix. Adapted from the novel by Mark Greaney, The Gray Man centers on Gosling's Sierra Six, an elite special operative who gets hunted by the CIA and their hired gun, Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans), after he uncovers evidence of corruption by higher-ups in the Agency. Complicating Six's plight is Lloyd kidnapping Claire Fitzroy, the young niece of Six's mentor, Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton). With the help of Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas), Six has to rescue Claire and Donald as well as fight off Lloyd and hordes of mercenaries.

Elements of Claire's story in The Gray Man echo Luc Besson's 1994 cult classic Léon: The Professional. Released as The Professional in the United States, the film is about an Italian "cleaner" (i.e. a hitman) named Léon (Jean Reno) who befriends a 12-year-old named Mathilda (Natalie Portman). When Mathilda's abusive father is murdered by corrupt DEA agents led by Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman), she comes under a reluctant Léon's care. Mathilda learns the basics of how to be a "cleaner," and they take on Stansfield and his DEA agents together. Tragically, Léon is killed but Mathilda vows to carry on and become a cleaner in his memory. Leon: The Professional was Portman's first starring role and established her as a formidable actress at a young age. Luc Besson planned a sequel called Mathilda for when Portman was older but internal strife with Besson's production company prevented it from being made. Instead, Besson's Mathilda script became the basis for Colombiana starring Zoe Saldana, but Natalie Portman never played Mathilda again.

In The Gray Man, a reluctant Six is recruited as Claire's bodyguard. Donald Fitzroy's niece suffers many tragedies at a young age: her parents were killed and she was born with a heart condition that requires her to have a pacemaker. Although he tried to keep his distance, Six grew close to Claire, who teased him incessantly and called him "robot." Saving Claire from Lloyd becomes one of Six's driving motivations in The Gray Man. In the end, Donald sacrifices himself so Six can escape with Claire, and he saves her from Lloyd. When Claire is then taken into "protective custody" by CIA heads Suzanne Brewer (Jessica Henwick) and Denny Carmichael (Regé-Jean Page), Six ends The Gray Man by breaking Claire out and vanishing into the wind with his young friend.

How Julia Butters' Claire Could Become The Next Gray Man

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Potentially, Sierra Six could train Claire to become a Gray Man like him in The Gray Man 2. Six has to know that Claire is going to be a target from now on and the CIA will try to use her to get to Six. The best way for Claire to protect herself is to learn the martial arts and fighting skills that her uncle Donald had Six trained in when he was recruited to join the Sierra program and become a Gray Man herself. Claire learning Six's incredible skills at gunplay and hand-to-hand combat would essentially mirror how Léon trained Mathilda in The Professional. Claire could potentially even become Six's partner instead of someone Six perpetually has to protect. Otherwise, Claire would really never be safe. Tragically, a chance for a normal life isn't available for Claire unless Carmichael and Brewer's CIA regime is brought down.

The biggest obstacle for Claire Fitzroy to become a Gray Man like Six is her heart condition. However, in the type of global action movie spy genre The Gray Man inhabits, there are certainly creative solutions to repair Claire's heart. If Claire and Six become action hero partners in The Gray Man, it would fulfill the potential left behind when Natalie Portman never made Mathilda, although Portman's cleaner would have gone it alone without Léon. Turning Claire Fitzroy into an action heroine in The Gray Man 2 is a likely direction the sequel could take.

To be honest I find the movie a bit too generic

It has got all the big names in it but somehow the russo brothers manage to make it... meh

Time for a leon rewatch though!