The Big Picture

Scott Stuber, head of Netflix film, discusses upcoming projects, including potential sequels, acquisitions of new IP, and collaborations with filmmakers such as Greta Gerwig, David Fincher, and Kathryn Bigelow. We find out what Netflix original movies and adaptations are in development. Stuber also talks about more theatrical releases, what’s set to start filming in 2024, and which franchises they’re looking to continue.

While attending the grand reopening of the American Cinematheque at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood, Collider’s Steve Weintraub sat down with the head of Netflix film, Scott Stuber, to discuss the feature future of the streaming giant. Since its conception in the late ‘90s, Netflix has celebrated membership milestones, expanded its reach across the globe, evolved to fit the needs of its subscribers, earned Academy Awards, and so much more. During their interview, Stuber focuses on the evolution of the streamer and what viewers can expect going forward.

In 1998, Netflix, the first-ever DVD rental site, launched. Over the years, the company has become one of the most recognizable streaming platforms with quick access to TV shows, movies, and documentaries subscribers know and love, as well as original content. As head of the film division, Stuber is dedicated to overseeing the continued success of Netflix’s movie category, both blockbusters and working with filmmakers, established and up-and-coming, to create original films that will further the brand’s intent to entertain. “The great thing about the company and the thing I really admire,” Stuber tells Weintraub, “is how smart it is in terms of pivoting when there’s an opportunity.”

In their one-on-one, Stuber shares a wealth of information about upcoming projects like what’s in development for brand-new films, sequels they’re looking into, more theatrical releases, digging into specific genres, and tons more. In particular, if you’re a fan of franchises like Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobby Brown, or Chris Hemsworth and Sam Hargrave’s Extraction series, you’ll definitely want to check out the full interview in the transcript below. They discuss Netflix acquiring new IP to pave the way for exciting adaptations like Greta Gerwig’s Chronicles of Narnia and more from the spectacular works of Roald Dahl, as well as working with new filmmakers like Juel Taylor and Chloe Domont and continuing original work with directors like David Fincher. If you’re curious about the status of the Russo Brothers’ The Gray Man 2, video game adaptations like the highly-anticipated BioShock movie, the Fear Street Trilogy, and so much more, read on!

COLLIDER: Do you think that Netflix will ever get to the point of releasing two or three movies in theaters with a bigger push and then have it come to Netflix? You do release in theaters, but it’s not a big release; it’s a select kind of a thing. I’m just wondering if it’ll ever change.

SCOTT STUBER: Well, the one thing that’s interesting is people expect so much because it’s such a big company and you forget we’re a five-and-a-half-year-old film company. So if you apply us next to other companies in terms of what we’re trying to build to, what our success module is, and how we get there, you want to get there. We didn’t have any IP, we didn’t have any development, so how do we take our time and do it and not get out of business quickly like a lot of other companies have? Then we have this extraordinary membership; we have 250 million people that we can get to and do it quickly. So, for now, that’s the kind of business model. How do we keep amping up? How do we make better film? How do we get better at what we’re doing? And I think the teams are working there.

Then, I think you look at what the opportunity is in the market. The great thing about the company and the thing I really admire is how smart it is in terms of pivoting when there’s an opportunity, right? Obviously, we did it with ads, we’ve done it with so many other things. So, I don’t think anyone ever would say never to anything in our company, which makes it such a smart and good company. I think for now, what we’re doing is really working in terms of getting our movies out there with that wide of a membership and then figuring out how to build. And to your point, we do it a lot more than people think we do, and we do it much wider than people even acknowledge around some of these films, so I think it’s important to have people kind of understand that as well.

Sure. What do you hope to be shooting early next year if the strike is worked out?

STUBER: Oh, gosh, we have so many films.

What Movies Are Coming to Netflix Soon?
Image by Jefferson Chacon

What are some of the big ones that the Collider audience will be excited to hear about?

STUBER: Well, I think people know that we’re aspirationally trying to get Greta Gerwig’s [The Chronicles of] Narnia together and get that moving, which will be next year. We’ve got Adam McKay’s film, which is a big film with Robert Downey Jr. and Rob Pattinson and Amy Adams. I’m just trying to think what else is getting ready to go. We’re hoping to get the next iteration of Knives Out with Rian [Johnson] and get him ready now that the strike’s over, get him writing and get that ready. I’m trying to think what else are the big ones on the runway in that space that the Collider audience would love. Noah Baumbach’s got an excellent kind of Jerry Maguire-esque, for lack of a better analogy, but a really great life-affirming movie with two big movie stars that’s starting to come together, so that’ll be exciting.

So, I’m feeling good. I think what’s exciting is we have a ton of great filmmakers. We’re really pushing to get Kathryn Bigelow’s next movie and working with her on a couple of things. She’s one of the greats, and we all need another Kathryn Bigelow movie. We need it so badly. So we’re trying. We’ve got multiple pots on the stove for her because she’s one of my…I idolize her, and she’s one of the coolest, greatest artists there is, so it would be a dream come true to be able to make a movie with her.

Netflix’s ‘BioShock’ and ‘Gears of War’ Are In Development
Image via 2K Games

You guys have really pushed into video game IP, and I’m curious, what video game movies are you cooking up? For example, what’s the status of BioShock and other things?

STUBER: You know, Bio, we’re waiting on the script. So we’re in that kind of phase. The strike slowed us down quite a bit. That one and Gears of War, too, I’d really like to push on. I mean, Gears of War I was the producer on when I was a producer, so to bring it full circle has been great for me to get back together with the guys at Microsoft. So those are two really big ones that I feel aspirationally. There are huge audiences. As you know, that kind of medium, they don’t translate always, and historically, as an industry, we’ve screwed it up quite a bit. But both those have really rich worlds, have really good characters, so they’re very natural kind of transitions to screen and filmmaking.

Do you have scripts that you’re happy with?

STUBER: We haven’t even got them. We’ve done long treatments. You know, there’s a lot of people that we wanna make sure feel good. Inevitably, when you’re making those, first and foremost, you gotta make sure the fan base is good. So you’re working with the creators, you’re working with the teams who make the games. We’ve worked out a lot of that, so now we’ve got great writers, and I feel like, hopefully, we’ll be on the road once we get those drafts.

Image via Netflix

Sam Hargrave’s Extraction and Extraction 2 are in your top 10 biggest films of all time, so is this the moment you say, “We’re making Extraction 3?”

STUBER: You’ve got to find the right thing. I think the second one was so good because it was emotional and complex. It kind of reminds me of when I worked on the Bourne movies, right? Tony Gilroy did such a good job on the second one of making it emotional and making that kind of activate around Franka [Potente’s] death. So, this one had the same kind of familial background around Chris [Hemsworth’s] motivation. Getting Idris [Elba] into the franchise was an interesting way to kind of evolve it. So we’re waiting on the script and working hard, but aspiration would be great to get it back. I mean, what those guys have done has been really great in that franchise.

Also, the ending sets up the third one, which is why I’m like, “So when are you announcing it?”

STUBER: [Laughs] Well, once again, we lost some momentum, right? The writers’ strike hurt all of us in momentum and creativity, and now that there’s a vibrancy back and, hopefully, knock on wood, we can get the SAG stuff resolved and get us all back to what everybody does best, which is storytelling.

Another ‘Enola Holmes’ Movie Is in the Works
Image via Netflix

I enjoyed the first two Enola Holmes movies. Millie [Bobby Brown] obviously has a huge fan base. Do you see another in Enola Holmes?

STUBER: Yeah. You know, she’s such a great homegrown star for us. I mean, obviously, Stranger Things is huge for us in that, and watching her grow as an actress. We have a film called Damsel with her in the spring, which I’m really excited about, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Then, getting that character right. The Holmes IP is weirdly elastic. Obviously, Warner Bros. did an incredible job with Downey and Jude Law, so this idea that we can extend that IP with her is exciting. So, we’re working once again on a screenplay to try to get that. But yes, aspiration. I’d like to do another one.

Red Notice, I believe it’s the biggest film in Netflix history in terms of original movies. I know that you guys were developing two sequels. Is that still the case? What’s the status on those?

STUBER: We’ve got one that we’re working on, so we’re gonna get that script relatively soon. The key to that is to try to make it– You know, Rawson [Marshall Thurber] did a really good job of kind of misdirecting in that movie, right? So now you’ve established personality in a heist, so now it’s like, “How do we get that plot right? How do we get that storytelling right?” So, you know, I wanna make sure that we’re hitting the highest bar possible when we’re making these things. We have three of the biggest global stars in the world, so yes, you know, we want it back, but we want to get it right. So much right now coming out of the strike is just like, “Get the draft grind up. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.” So we’re just trying to make sure we’re good partners to the creatives and the producers to get their stuff turned around as quick as possible.

The other thing, of course, is their scheduling of those three people.

STUBER: [Laughs] Yes. That’s complex. The reunion tour that’s difficult because they all have solo bands.

Do you think it could be filming next year, or do you think, realistically, it’s a 2025?

STUBER: I think it’s probably 50/50. It’s so script-based. The one thing I know about artists is when you get the script right everyone clears a path for it. And I think we’re just not there yet to be able to say to the three of them, “Clear a path.” I think Dwayne [Johnson] probably has the most complex because Moana got pushed because of the strike, so that’s probably the big one that we’ve got to work around. They were already going, and now, obviously, we assumed they’d be done, and now I don’t think they’ve started. I think they have to start, so it’ll be tricky. Aspirationally, I’d like to aim for the end of next year to start, like the fall of ‘24, but I gotta make sure that everybody’s ready.

Is There Going To Be a ‘The Gray Man 2’?

The Gray Man was another big hit for you guys. Do you think that has a sequel, or is that a maybe?

STUBER: I think that’s a maybe. I think we gotta get it right. You know, the guys would admit, they had the biggest theatrical hit of all time, and moving into streaming, they were aspirationally trying to do that for their own, like, “How do we make the biggest thing of all time?” And we probably put too much action in that movie. There were too many action set pieces, and I think we should have slowed down a little bit on the character. So when we talk about it, the advantage we have is we have incredible actors; they’re watchable, they’re unique. So, you know, Joe and Anthony [Russo] have talked about, “If we go back to it, how do we spend time with this guy, Ryan Gosling,” who I think is incredible. I just watch what he’s doing right now, and I don’t know if there’s a better actor out there in terms of his range and what he’s accomplishing. The ability to have him in a franchise like that is huge, so we gotta really slow down and make sure, “What makes that character great, and how do we really extend that story?”

What’s the status of horror at Netflix in terms of movies, and do you view the Fear Street movies as a big success? Could there be more Fear Street movies coming?

STUBER: Yeah. Obviously, there’s a lot of books. There’s one stand-alone that we’re working on right now that we’re once again trying to get the script right, but I like it very much, and so does the team. So I feel like if we can get that script right there would be a great kind of extension of that franchise.

And, you know, I think it’s an interesting genre. I think there are two complexities to it; one, it’s an event right now in theaters, right? It’s a communal event that really is working theatrically, and so for us to be able to get the right stories, I think it’s imperative, and to be a little more aggressive in that space. If you look at its history, which I love horror, I’d like us to find our own Freddy Krueger, our own Jason, our own kind of iconic horror character, and we haven’t really honed in on that yet. So the team is working hard on that because I think there’s a real opportunity there. You know, you’ve got so many great characters. Every Halloween, basically, I look and go, “Okay, there’s 20 great characters to pick from. We should be making those movies.”

What is it like for you right now in terms of figuring out the balance between original IP, IP you want to create, you know, because you can obviously only make so many movies a year? Do you have an algorithm where, “We need 10 movies like this? Two movies like this…?”

STUBER: No…There’s no algorithm that’s ever gonna teach anyone, or computer, how to make a good movie. It’s just the nature of it, right? So, by having nothing, we’ve tried to be aggressive in those places you’ve noticed. Like, we went out and got the C.S. Lewis library. We went out and got [Roald] Dahl, so we have an opportunity to make some of those animated features around Charlie and some of those great titles. We went out and got some of those video games. You try to find it when you find it, but you kind of have to look at it and go, “Okay, well, what is your perceived efficiency, and how do you turn that into your strength?” And your perceived efficiency in a business that’s over-reliant on IP is your strength has to be original, and that’s challenging and difficult telling new original stories, but you can break new filmmakers, right? We’ve got Juel Taylor with They Cloned Tyrone this year, with Chloe Domont with Fair Play. That needs to be your superpower. Then, in terms of extensions, can you do attraction? Can you hit a bar that justifies sequels? And really working and honing that. So there’s no magic to it, it’s just like, “Where do we find opportunity? Where do we find great storytelling?” And really try to be the best at what you’re doing, and that could be a romantic comedy, but try to be the best at that slot. That’s what I’m trying to hone the teams in on.

Will There Be More From David Fincher at Netflix?
Image by Federico Napoli

David Fincher is one of my favorite filmmakers.

STUBER: Have you seen the movie yet?

I have. Thumbs way up. I think every David Fincher release should be a national holiday. So my question is, have you spoken to David about doing another project together?

STUBER: Of course. Yeah, I mean, we have a lot in development with him. He’s a Netflix treasure in a lot of ways. I mean, he really amplified the company, brought it to life, was one of the first artists, if not the first, to really say, “I’m willing to make my stories here.” So he’s someone we have a lot of film and television that are really interesting in both places. He’s one of the best people at both mediums in our whole business, right? So, whatever he wants to do in either of those, we are excited.

Image via Netflix The Killer (2023) After a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn’t personal. Release Date November 10, 2023 Director David Fincher Cast Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell, Monique Ganderton Rating R Runtime 118 minutes Main Genre Action
That’s the right answer. “Whatever you wanna do, let’s go do it.”

STUBER: Yeah, we are excited. He’s just so talented. He is so thorough, so precise. He’s really great. What I love about him is I love how he wants to make everyone better. He wants to aspire for greatness, and that’s always someone you admire and want to be in business with.

What to Look Out for From Netflix

What are the films that you have coming up that you think the Collider audience should be very excited to see besides Leave the World Behind, besides Society of the Snow because those are both great?

STUBER: I was gonna say both of those! I think Rebel Moon. I think Zack [Snyder] did a really cool, interesting, new version of sci-fi for him. I think all three of those the Collider audience will dig. It’s antithetical in some ways, but both of our animated movies are kind of rock and roll with Leo and Chicken Run [Dawn of the Nugget], so I think the Collider audience will kind of dig that. And The Killer, obviously. And it’s not necessarily the Collider audience movie until the end of the year, but I think Maestro is one of the bravest, most uniquely aspirational artist accomplishments. I’m so proud that we’re part of that movie. When you see Bradley [Cooper] and Carey [Mulligan], you can’t deny great acting, and they’re both top marks in that movie.

The Killer is in theaters in the U.S. You can purchase tickets here.