Cops, magic wands and Will Smith? Netflix is dropping the follow-up fantasy film for good - and a number of other projects too.
Netflix has decided to cancel a string of projects that were in development, including Will Smith's 'Bright 2'.
The sequel to the 2017 David Ayer-directed movie won't move forward at the streaming service any longer, the reason for which can be presumed to be down to either the Oscars slap, the streamer's recent fall in subscribers, or a combination of both. It seems Hollywood has put a hold on a number of Smith projects for the moment too - another National Geographic series with the actor, 'Pole To Pole', has been delayed.
Netflix has not had a great start to the year, as reports published earlier this month indicated a sharp fall in the number of subscribers forking out for the service. The Wall Street Journal reported that Netflix lost 25% of its shares in the first quarter of this year, which was the first time it's happened in over a decade. Around 200,000 subscribers worldwide jumped ship from January to March.
Along with 'Bright 2', the global service has also cut a number of planned animation projects that were in development. A highly anticipated adaptation of Jeff Smith's comic book series 'Bone' has been shelved, as has Lauren Faust's 'Toil and Trouble'. Phil Rynda, Netflix's Director of Creative Leadership and Development for Original Animation, has also reportedly been fired following the decline in Netflix.
Off the back of Netflix acquiring Roald Dahl's back catalogue of works, an animated series based on Roald Dahl's 'The Twits' was in the pipeline. This has been cut, but it's not all bad news, as it will instead continue on as a feature film.
Rumours of Netflix also eyeing to cancel Neil Gaiman's 'The Sandman' series have been shot down by the comic book creator. The series, which has wrapped production and is set for release later this year, is hoping to be the next fantasy hit. It features an all-star cast of Patton Oswalt, David Thewlis, Gwendoline Christie, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Niamh Walsh and many more.
Netflix is now left scrambling to change tact when it comes to marketing their projects and how users can get the most out of paying for the service each month.
They are now open to introducing adverts for subscribers at a lower monthly cost, in line with their competitors. Some production companies have also called on Netflix to alter their marketing strategies for new TV shows and movies - some upcoming releases aren't announced until a month out from their release on the platform, making it difficult to drum up enough interest.
