Crittics almost universally hated Netflix’s big new movie, Bright, which starred Will Smith as a Los Angeles cop working alongside an orc in an urban-fantasy world. Netflix subscribers, however, really, really liked the movie. So, it really shouldn’t be surprising that the streaming service is going forward with an as-yet-untitled sequel.
Netflix broke the news on Wednesday with a press release and a cheeky “leaked” video of two orc actors auditioning for the upcoming Bright sequel. After the two orcs address the camera, a series of possible titles for the movie flash on the screen, including Brighter, Bad Boys in Mordor, Orcs Gone Wild, The Last Inferni, and Wand Wars.
“Ok… title still needs works,” the teaser concludes.
David Ayer will write and direct the sequel, according to a Netflix release, and Will Smith and Joel Edgerton are expected to star again. The controversial writer of the first Bright, Max Landis, is not slated to come back for the sequel, though it’s unclear why that is. There is no release date yet.
Netflix is pretty happy with how well Bright performed, critics be damned. The film was Netflix’s highest-viewed film ever, and the streaming service says it’s in the top tier of all of their originals, including series and anything that was a sequel to a pre-existing show, like Fuller House or Arrested Development.
Bright, which is currently sitting pretty with an 88 percent approval score on Rotten Tomatoes, is an international hit as well. That is very, very important for any movie studio, as international markets are a key part of the industry. Many movies are even made with the Chinese market, specifically, in mind. Netflix says more people are viewing the film internationally than are domestically, and that it’s the number one movie in every country where Netflix exists.
Will critics hate Bright 2, or whatever it’s called, as much as they hated the first one? We’ll find out whenever Netflix releases the sequel.
