Business developments In March 2015, the
Russo brothers announced they were launching a production company, then known as Getaway Productions, and tapped
Mike Larocca as President. AGBO was officially founded on July 8, 2017 by the Russo brothers, along with Larocca and Todd Makurath. In March 2018, it was announced that screenwriters
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who wrote the screenplays for
Captain America: The Winter Soldier and
Captain America: Civil War, were named Co-Presidents of Story at AGBO. The name "AGBO" was a surname selected randomly by
Anthony and Joe Russo from an Ohio phone book years prior. On January 5, 2022, it was announced that the
Russo brothers sold a 38% minority stake in AGBO to Tokyo-based game maker
Nexon for $400 million. AGBO was consequently valued at $1.1 billion. The series starred
Lana Condor and
Benedict Wong and aired on
Syfy from December 20, 2018 through March 20, 2019. In June 2016, it was announced that the
Russo brothers would produce action film
21 Bridges for
STX Entertainment. In July 2018 it was announced that
Chadwick Boseman would star in the AGBO-produced movie, which was released on November 22, 2019. In August 2017, it was announced that AGBO acquired the rights to the book
Exit West by
Mohsin Hamid, with
Morten Tyldum set to direct. On December 31, 2017,
Barack Obama included
Exit West on his list of the best books he read in 2017, and then Obama's production company,
Higher Ground Productions, announced they would team up with AGBO to produce a feature adaptation for
Netflix, with
Riz Ahmed attached to star, and
Yann Demange directing. In August 2022, author Hamid stated that the film is still in the development stage. In December 2017, it was announced that AGBO won the rights to the graphic novel
The Electric State by
Simon Stålenhag, and in March 2018 it was announced that screenwriting duo
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely would adapt the screenplay. In November 2022, it was announced that
Giancarlo Esposito,
Ke Huy Quan, and
Anthony Mackie were joining the cast of
The Electric State. The film, starring Brown and
Chris Pratt, was released on Netflix on March 14, 2025.
2018–2022: Launching the studio In January 2018, it was announced that AGBO and
Neon acquired the worldwide rights to
Assassination Nation, written and directed by
Sam Levinson, at that year's
Sundance Film Festival in a $10 million deal. The film was released on September 21, 2018 in association with
Refinery29. In June 2018, AGBO optioned the film adaptation of Alex North's novel
The Whisper Man, with AGBO producing. In August 2018, AGBO optioned
Nico Walker's novel
Cherry in a bidding war and announced this would be the next film the
Russo brothers would direct after
Avengers: Endgame.
Tom Holland and
Ciara Bravo star in the film. Apple bought the rights to
Cherry in September 2020. The film had its theatrical release on February 26, 2021, and was released on
Apple TV+ on March 12, 2021. On August 30, 2018, it was announced that
Anthony and Joe Russo were set to produce the
Daniels' (
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) sci-fi action film
Everything Everywhere All at Once, with
A24 as the distributor. Released in 2022, the film would go on to be nominated for eleven
Academy Awards, winning seven, including
Best Picture. On August 30, 2018, it was announced that
Sam Hargrave would direct
Dhaka, later renamed
Extraction, from a screenplay by
Joe Russo with
Chris Hemsworth set to star in the film. The film was released on Netflix on April 24, 2020, and received the biggest premiere viewership in the site's history, leading to a sequel being put in development from the same team. In October 2018, it was announced that AGBO would come on as a producer for the
Emily Mortimer-starring indie horror film
Relic, the feature directorial debut for
Natalie Erika James. It debuted to critical acclaim at the
Sundance Film Festival in January 2020. On March 10, 2020, the film was acquired by
IFC Midnight with a release date set for July 10, 2020. In October 2018, it was announced that AGBO would partner with
Conde Nast Entertainment to produce the thriller
Mosul with
World War Z screenwriter
Matthew Michael Carnahan set to direct. The film played at the
76th Venice International Film Festival and
2019 Toronto International Film Festival. It was later acquired by
Netflix and released in November 2020. On March 20, 2019, AGBO acquired JJ Braider's script
All Fun And Games. On January 13, 2022, casting announcements were made for the forthcoming horror-thriller film, with AGBO producing,
Asa Butterfield and
Natalia Dyer to star, and Ari Costa and Eren Celeboglu to co-direct. In April 2020, it was announced that the
Russo brothers would team with
Walt Disney Pictures to produce a
live-action remake of the 1997 animated film
Hercules. On June 17, 2022, it was announced that
Guy Ritchie would direct the remake. In April 2021, it was announced that
Epix gave a 10-episode straight-to-series order to
From, a contemporary sci-fi horror series, created by John Griffin and produced by AGBO and the
Russo brothers. It was renewed for a second season in April 2022. In July 2021, AGBO announced it was teaming up with
Netflix for a heist thriller film starring
Regé-Jean Page and written by
Noah Hawley. In August 2021,
Hulu announced the expansion of its true-crime collection, including the docuseries
Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story, which is executive produced by AGBO's Anthony Russo, Joe Russo and Mike Larocca. In July 2022, it was announced that the docuseries became
Hulu's most-viewed nonfiction TV program in its first month of release.
2022–present: AGBOverse In February 2022, it was announced that AGBO and
Disney Television Animation would produce an animated film adaptation of
Superfudge, one of
Judy Blume's best selling books.
The Gray Man sequel and spinoff with
Netflix was announced in July 2022, with
Ryan Gosling reprising his role as The Gray Man, with AGBO producing and the
Russo brothers directing.
Paul Wernick and
Rhett Reese, writers of
Deadpool, will write the spinoff series. On September 15, 2022, it was announced that AGBO would executive produce a
Butch and Sundance series at
Amazon Studios, starring
Regé-Jean Page and
Glen Powell. The
Citadel global multi-series announced the casting of
Matilda De Angelis as the lead for the Italian installment of the spy thriller franchise, which AGBO is producing in conjunction with
Amazon Studios. In November 2022, it was announced the
Russo brothers would executive produce and direct an eight-episode limited series about the
FTX scandal in conjunction with
Amazon Studios. In November 2022,
Variety named the
Russo brothers "Showmen of the Year" and the cover featured the Russos with
Chris Pratt,
Priyanka Chopra, and
Zoe Saldaña all as part of upcoming AGBO projects. In February 2025, the TV series
Mercenary: An Extraction Series was announced, a spinoff of the
Extraction film franchise. The Netflix series stars
Omar Sy as a mercenary on a mission to Libya to rescue hostages. It was filmed in Ireland and Morocco beginning in December 2025. The film
Extraction 3, again starring Chris Hemsworth, is set to begin production in 2026. In December 2025,
Tygo was announced, a spin-off film in the
Extraction universe set in South Korea. It will be directed by Lee Sang-yong and will star
Don Lee,
Lee Jin-wook and
Lalisa Manobal.
Community developments Established in 2017 through AGBO, the National Italian American Film Forum Grant program annually awards multiple $8,000 grants to ambitious filmmakers around the country to create documentary, fiction or nonfiction narrative films that explore the Italian American experience for the benefit of future generations. In October 2017, it was announced that the
Russo brothers would offer an annual fellowship with
Slamdance Film Festival which would consist of a $25,000 prize, filmmaking support and an office at AGBO. In June 2019, it was announced that AGBO partnered with the
American Film Institute (AFI) for an inaugural development grant which would award the recipient $25,000 to develop a project as well as year-long mentorship from AGBO. In May 2020, the
Russo brothers announced their new video podcast,
Pizza Film School. The podcast aims to educate and spread some love to favorite classic films, as well as local pizzerias while movie lovers are stuck at home during the pandemic. Guests included
Josh Brolin,
Taika Waititi,
Mark Hamill,
Bob Gale and more. The second season premiered in April 2023 with the
Russos talking to other directors including a viral episode with
Zack Snyder, which was a crossover between the Marvel and DC universes. Other guests included
Emerald Fennell,
Nia DaCosta,
Justin Lin,
Justin Chon,
R.J. Cutler, and more. In April 2021, AGBO began running its annual "No Sleep 'til Film Fest" competition, an opportunity for emerging creators to submit a short film for consideration from AGBO's Executive teams. The virtual short film festival invites filmmakers from all countries to make a short movie in only 48 hours. The first year of the festival received over 700 submissions from filmmakers in over 60 countries. ==Filmography==