Big budget fantasy has become something of a specialty for Netflix, with many of the streaming service’s most popular original movies and TV shows fitting firmly within the confines of the genre. The Witcher, Cursed and Warrior Nun all drew in solid viewing numbers, while Shadow and Bone continues to dominate the Top 10 most-watched list, and upcoming DC adaptation Sweet Tooth is shaping up to be another major hit.
On the feature film front, meanwhile, there are a number of exciting projects in development, with the platform in the process of rebooting The Chronicles of Narnia as Millie Bobby Brown gears up to battle a dragon in Damsel and Keanu Reeves moves to bring his BRZRKR to both live-action and animation. Netflix’s next major fantasy hope has just started shooting as well, with Charlize Theron set to continue her fruitful working relationship with the company by headlining Paul Feig’s The School for Good and Evil.
Based on the book series by Soman Chainani, the story takes place in a locale known as the Endless Woods, and follows best friends Sophie and Agatha as they attend the titular institute for learning, where youngsters are trained to become either heroes or villains, with our intrepid heroines naturally being separated. Sophia Anne Caruso and Sofia Wylie will play the two leads, while the supporting cast sees Theron joined by Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne and Michelle Yeoh.
The last time Feig tackled blockbuster fantasy it didn’t go too well, but he’s a solid filmmaker with the right material and the cast alone is enough to ensure that The School for Good and Evil is worth keeping an eye on as it moves through production.