In this article, our Spy Movie News May 31, 2022, edition, we discuss the June streaming releases for spy movies, Sean Connery’s DB5, and the upcoming movies The Gray Man, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One, Freegard, The Good Spy, Hunt, The Black Kaiser, and more!
Let’s start this episode by looking at what’s coming in spy entertainment in June 2022.
Spy Movies in the theater in June 2022
Unfortunately, there is a dearth of releases of new spy movies in June. In fact, we have not found any spy movies with a June 2022 theatrical release date in the US.
Spy Movies on streaming platforms in June 2022
However, there are some June 2022 Spy entertainment releases on streaming platform
As for the major streaming platforms in the US, it is more of the same for new releases. However, there is some spy entertainment coming out in June on the streaming platforms, almost all of it is content that has been already available.
AMC+
On AMC+, the six-part series, “The Ipcress File” continues with the finale landing on June 23.
Apple TV+ continues to stream the excellent 6-part series “Slow Horses”. If you are a spy movie fan of movies that are more spy stories and not high-action, this series is for you. Think along the lines of a John le Careé novel and you’ll get the idea.
We liked season one very much. It stars Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Jack Lowden. Season two of this series is under development.
Apple TV+ also continues the series “Tehran” which is about a female Mossad agent. Episodes of Season 2 started airing in May and the season will have its final on June 17, 2022.
Netflix
Netflix has no new spy content releasing in June 2022. However, they are releasing some Mission: Impossible movies on June 1st. Namely, Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible 2, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
In the UK, Netflix is releasing the 2020 movie, My Spy on June 6. We released our no-spoiler look at this movie when it came out on June 29, 2020. So, look for our podcast episode Cracking the Code of Spy Movies and find season 2, episode 42 in your favorite podcast app. Or look for the title “My Spy (2020) – a Quick-Fire Look. You can also find it on our website by clicking here.
Amazon Prime
The James Bond movie No Time To Die hits Amazon Prime on June 10, 2022. This is followed on June 17 with the Jack Ryan movie: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.
Sean Connery’s DB5
Do you have a couple of million dollars you don’t know what to do with? And do you want to feel like James Bond? If so, August 18, 2022, is a date you won’t want to miss. Broad Arrow Auctions will put up Sean Connery’s Aston Martin DB5 for auction on that date. According to the press release from Broad Arrow Auctions, this was Connery’s personal car, not one used in the James Bond movies. They quote his son Jason Connery as saying:
“Dad used to talk about owning his own DB5, for no other reason than he loved the car, and I think in hindsight it did represent something in his life that was unique and captured a moment in time. He did tell me that driving the movie cars, all laden down with the gadgets, especially the machine guns in the front, made the car really front heavy and turning at slow speed was a Herculean task, so driving without gadgets was a joy! He loved how well balanced it was.”
“The Aston Martin DB5 is in highly presentable condition. In fact, shortly after Sir Sean purchased the car, it went to noted marque specialist RS Williams where it received a mechanical freshening along with a full repaint to the correct Snow Shadow Grey, the correct shade of silver for Mr. Bond’s Aston Martin.”
The release also says that “a significant portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Aston Martin will go to benefit the Sean Connery Philanthropy Fund”.
This car has an auction estimate of $1.4-1.8 million dollars so check your couch cushions to see if you can by this fun piece of nostalgia.
Spy Movies/Series in Development
So that wraps up what’s happening in June. Let’s look at what’s in development
The Gray Man
We’ll start this discussion with the next spy movie to be released. Of course, we are talking about the Russo Brother’s movie, The Gray Man. The hype has taken off and the trailer for this movie has been released and is on our homepage at SpyMovieNavigator.com .
This Netflix movie is one we’ve been talking about for a while and we will finally get a chance to see it when it is released on July 22nd, if not before. According to Empireonline.com, The Gray Man will hit UK cinemas on July 15. We assume the same will happen here in the US. Netflix did this same thing of getting the movie out in theaters a week before its streaming release for Red Notice and Operation Mincemeat. And like they did with those prior two movies Netflix we guess that Netflix will likely do a terrible job marketing the big screen availability.
They spent over $200 million on The Gray Man. You think they would advertise it accordingly. We understand the need for them to use these movies to get subscribers, but $200 million is a lot to make up without adding big-screen viewers. Plus, as a $200 million spy movie, there are likely to be big action sequences and the trailer verifies that. In a May 9th article on empireonline.com, Joe Russo is quoted as saying “This movie almost killed us. There are like nine action sequences, and so it is relentless in that regard.” Yeah, we’ll try to catch this one in a theater if we get the chance.
We also know that this is a star-studded cast. When we say star-studded, this movie has Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, Rege-Jean Page, Wagner Moura, Billy Bob Thornton, Alfre Woodard, and more. Wow.
There are 11 books in the Mark Greaney “The Gray Man” series and plans are already in development to make this a franchise. Movieweb.com tells us that a prequel and sequel are already in development and that the Russo’s are trying
So, we are eagerly awaiting the July 22nd official streaming release date, or is the July 15th theatrical release date that they aren’t talking about? In any case, we won’t miss this movie.
Other spy movies/series in development
These first three upcoming spy movies are all about real-life people involved in the world of espionage.
Freegard
An espionage movie that will have a theatrical release as well as a streaming release later this summer is called Freegard. Freegard stars James Norton and Gemma Arterton in a true story about a conman who convinces people he works for MI5. You can read more about Freegard on Deadline.com. We’ll let you know more as we learn more about this one. IFC Films and AMC+ have the US distribution rights on this one.
The Good Spy
Here’s another real-life espionage movie. Rocket Science is financing the biopic about real-life CIA Operative Robert Ames who was killed in the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut. The movie will be based on the Kai Bird novel “The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames.” According to variety.com, Oscar-nominated director Hany Abu-Assad has been signed on for this one.
We enjoy these espionage movies about real-life people. We’ll have to see if this is done more like a documentary or a spy story like The Courier or Breach were. We’re hoping for the latter.
Lives in Secret
Due to be released in 2023, the movie Lives in Secret tells the story of Vera Atkins, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg. According to an article on hollywoodreporter.com, Atkins was the inspiration for a James Bond character, Miss Moneypenny. Hugh Bonneville plays an SS Officer in this one. Lives in Secret is based on Sarah Helm’s book “A life in secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII.”
Hunt
Released at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Hunt is a South Korean spy thriller. The movie takes place four years after South Korean president Park Chung-hee’s assassination by the chief of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency in 1979. Intelligence agents have to identify a mole from North Korea. Reviews have been mixed on Hunt and we haven’t seen the US release information yet. We’ll keep you informed when we hear anything about its worldwide distribution.
Our Man From Jersey
Netflix has another spy movie under development, Our Man From Jersey. Deadline.com tells us that actors Mark Wahlberg, Halle Berry, J.K. Simmons, Jackie Earle Haley, Adewale Akinnuoye -Agbaje, Jessica De Gouw, and Alice Lee are signed up for this one. Mark Wahlberg plays a construction worker whose ex-girlfriend, played by Halle Berry, recruits him into a US intelligence mission. We often talk about reluctant spies. This one could be interesting
The Black Kaiser
The actor who played one of the best James Bond villains ever is starring in a new spy movie, The Black Kaiser. Mads Mikkelsen, who Bond fans will remember as Le Chiffre in the 2006 movie Casino Royale, stars in The Black Kaiser. He plays a hitman who discovers a conspiracy and becomes a target. Jonas Akerlund will direct the movie. Additional casting is still to be announced. You can read more about The Black Kaiser on variety.com.
Canary Black
Kate Beckinsale will star in the upcoming movie Canary Black. She will play CIA agent Avery Graves. Her husband is kidnapped, and the kidnappers want intelligence. Agent Graves has to make some tough decisions as to what to do about that.
Filming is currently scheduled for late 2022.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One
Well, the first trailer for next year’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One was leaked. So, according to The Spy Command, Paramount has now released the trailer officially. And the action looks great. There is a link to the trailer in the Spy Command article or on YouTube.
The article also points out four apparent call-backs to James Bond movies. We like it when these movies tip their caps to their competitors.
Mike Reyes has a fun article on Cinemablend.com titled “The 5 Most Ridiculous Stunts From The Mission: Impossible 7 Trailer, Ranked By How Close It Looks Like Tom Cruise Came To Dying”. Well, the title pretty much says it all. We know each Mission: Impossible movie seems to try to out-action the previous installment. This one is no different. We also know how meticulous the planning is behind these stunts so even though he looks like he is close to dying, a lot of precautions have been taken to minimize that risk.
We know that the movie isn’t due out until July 2023, so we’ll have to wait to see how this all fits together.
Austin Powers 4?
“I would love to do one. I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of such a project; should it exist or not exist? You know, we’re, you know…”
Those words by Mike Myers on the Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM should give any Austin Powers fan hope that maybe, … someday, … possibly, … we’ll get an Austin Powers 4 movie.
When pressed, Myers said, “It was a non-confirmed, confirmation confirmation.”
So, who knows we know that we’d love to see it.
You can read more about it on movieweb.com.
In Memoriam
Kenneth Tsang
Hong Kong actor Kenneth Tsang has died at 86. James Bond fans will remember him as General Moon in Die Another Day. Tsang started his movie career in 1955 and starred in many kung-fu movies. Besides Die Another Day, you may remember him from The Killer, Rush Hour 2, or The Replacement Killers.
Ray Liotta
Ray Liotta died in the Dominican Republic where he was shooting his latest movie, Dangerous Waters. He was 67. Liotta is Probably best known for his role as Henry Hill in Goodfellas. Among his numerous films, he had roles in the spy movies Suddenly, The River Murders, The Last Shot, and Hannibal.
Fred Ward
Veteran actor Fred Ward died at the age of 79. He is probably best known for The Right Stuff, Henry and June, and Tremors. Ward also was in the spy movies Red Team and Thunderheart.
Jack Kehler
Jack Kehler, probably best known as The Dude’s landlord in The Big Lebowski, has passed at age 75. Kehler appeared in over 175 movies or tv shows, including Men in Black II and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
Mike Hagerty
Character actor Mike Hagerty died at 67. Like Jack Kehler who we just mentioned, Hagerty appeared in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
So that’s a wrap of our Spy Movie News May 31, 2022 edition. Please subscribe to our show – Cracking the Code of Spy Movies – in your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Tell your friends about us – Share info about our show on your own social media – Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram too!
