Undeterred by scathing reviews, Netflix has officially given the go-ahead for a Bright sequel.
The fantasy-fueled flick initially staged its premiere in December, when it quickly became the “highest-viewed Netflix film ever on the service in its first week of release.” It’s a buzzworthy achievement that allegedly translates to around 11 million viewers in only three days, which, for the sake of comparison, falls just short of Stranger Things season 2, whose premiere averaged 15.8 million viewers overall.
All of this has convinced Netflix to give Bright another whirl – albeit without screenwriter Max Landis. So while Will Smith, Joel Edgerton and David Ayer (Suicide Squad, Gotham City Sirens) are all a lock, Landis will not be returning for round two, which is a little conspicuous when you consider that it was his original screenplay that sparked a bidding war back in 2016, before the sought-after spec sold to Netflix for a record-setting $4 million.
In his absence, David Ayer will assume full creative control, whose writing credits include Fury, End of Watch and the Oscar-winning Training Day. Indeed, THR notes that Netflix had been kicking around the idea of a Bright follow-up ever since the movie’s premiere late last month, and was reportedly holding fire in order to gauge audience reception.
And though it’s not exactly what one would call a measure of quality, Bright is currently the #1 movie across 190 territories. Among critics, it’s an entirely different story, given the Netflix original has been widely panned. In our own review, we found that Bright “seeks a balance it never strikes. It’s a boldly written and brazenly directed film, and while that kind of confidence has both merit and a place in Hollywood, it just doesn’t translate well here.”
Looking further afield, potential sequel names include Brighter, Orcs Gone Wild, Bad Boys in Mordor and Wand Wars. On a more serious note, expect Will Smith and Joel Edgerton’s buddy cop duo to reunite sooner rather than later.