David Fincher will leave his exclusive Netflix deal when the agreement expires next year. The filmmaker, known for Fight Club, The Social Network and Gone Girl, has worked closely with the streamer since its early days with House of Cards and Mindhunter.
David Fincher is preparing to end his exclusive Netflix deal after three movies for the streamer
Variety reported that Fincher signed an exclusive deal with Netflix in 2020 and has since made three films for the platform: Mank, The Killer and the upcoming The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.
According to Bloomberg, he is not planning to sign another overall deal with a different studio, meaning future projects could still bring him back to Netflix. However, Netflix did not respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Fincher is among several major filmmakers and producers who have recently moved away from Netflix. Noah Baumbach signed with Warner Bros. after making his last four films at the streamer, while Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy moved to Disney’s 20th Century. Ross and Matt Duffer also moved their deal to Paramount.
Fincher’s upcoming Cliff Booth, a Once Upon a Time in Hollywood spinoff starring Brad Pitt, is scheduled to premiere in Imax theaters on Nov. 25 before arriving on Netflix on Dec. 23.
The theatrical release is part of Netflix’s effort to work more with filmmakers who want their movies on the big screen. Sony previously released Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which became a critical and commercial success.
Tom Rothman, chair of Sony’s motion picture group, explained why the sequel eventually went to Fincher. In his words, “We were going to make the movie when Quentin was directing it, but he decided that he didn’t want to do it and changed course.” He further stated, “The only other person that he was comfortable directing his script was David Fincher, and David Fincher was exclusive to Netflix, so we were not going to stand in anybody’s way.”
Now, with Fincher’s Netflix exclusivity coming to an end, Rothman’s final line takes on a different meaning: “Now’s your chance, Tom!”
