Because the first one went over so well, and everyone was dying for a sequel.
Netflix is doubling down on the highly controversial film (actually, is it all that controversial? Is anyone out there defending this movie?) Bright, as they’ve just officially green-lighted a sequel.
The first Bright, which starred Will Smith and Joel Edgerton and was directed by Suicide Squad helmer David Ayer, was released in December and received mixed reviews, to say the least. Mixed reviews that definitely swayed towards the negative end, that is.
The film followed Smith and Edgerton in a fictional Los Angeles, a place where elves, orcs, fairies and dragons (yes, we see a dragon in one shot, and we have no idea why this wasn’t a huge deal. The Game of Thrones dragons literally are bringing about the end of Westeros, but here they’re just fine I guess) co-exist. The duo plays a pair of cops — Edgerton being an orc himself — hunting for this weird magic wand thing.
Bright was supposed to serve as a metaphor for racism, similar to the way Zootopia did. Most people, including Chance the Rapper, didn’t find it all that deep, however, and criticized the film for its shallow symbolism.
And now we’re apparently doing it all again in another year or two. Ayer, Smith and Edgerton are all expected to return, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Eric Newman and Bryan Unkeless will also return as producers.
This time, however, there’s no Max Landis (and we’re not complaining). Landis wrote the original screenplay for Bright in 2016 and eventually sold it to Netflix after a sizable bidding war. Ayer will be taking over writing duties in Landis’ place.
Despite bad word of mouth, Bright has allegedly been a highly viewed program for Netflix in the past month. We don’t know for sure because Netflix doesn’t release their streaming numbers, but The Hollywood Reporter says an average of 11 million U.S. Netflix users streamed the film in the first three days. If you figure a movie ticket costs around $10, that’s roughly a $110 million opening weekend — which definitely isn’t bad.
That’s to be taken with a grain of salt, however. If you pay the monthly fee for Netflix, you can watch as many movies or shows as you want, and there’s no telling how many people would actually be willing to pay $10 to see Bright.
Because, shocker, we definitely don’t see ourselves paying $10 to see Bright 2. But the film is still coming regardless, at some point. Netflix has yet to name a release date.
What they have done is taken to social media and created a new viral video to promote the news. Watch it here and tell us if you’d want to see a Bright sequel in the comments below.