It might be commonplace these days for Netflix to spend massive amounts of money on original projects with A-list talent attached, but given their increasing power and influence in Hollywood, it’s easy to forget that the streaming service has only really been in the blockbuster business for a little over three years.
2017’s Bright saw them hire director David Ayer fresh off Suicide Squad’s near-$750 million box office haul to helm a script from Max Landis when he was still pegged as screenwriting’s next big thing, and they cast Will Smith in the lead in a buddy cop movie with a twist. The critical reaction didn’t turn out to be particularly great, but a release right around the holiday season nonetheless saw it become one of Netflix’s most-watched originals ever, racking up over eleven million streams in the first three days it was available.
A sequel was announced the very same month, with Ayer and Smith the only confirmed returnees alongside Joel Edgerton’s Orc cop, but there’s been very little forward movement on the follow-up since. The last concrete bit of news we heard was four months ago when Ayer confirmed it was definitely still in the works, but we’ve now been told that Netflix are setting their sights high when it comes to casting the villain.
According to our sources – the same ones who told us Han was returning to the Fast & Furious franchise, a Green Lantern show is coming to HBO Max and Ryan Reynolds had a cameo in Hobbs & Shaw, all of which were correct – one of the names under consideration to play the big bad in Bright 2 is Angelina Jolie. Details on the role are still scarce, but from what we understand, she’d be buried under prosthetics as an Orc, presumably one with a connection to Edgerton’s character.
Given the vast sums of money at their disposal, Netflix can afford just about anybody at this stage and Jolie is no stranger to big budget fantasy, having recently headlined Maleficent: Mistress of Evil as well as taking a part in The Eternals. However, she’s only made a handful of live-action appearances in the last ten years, and two of those were as Maleficent, so it would most likely take either a lot of convincing or a truckload of cash on Netflix’s part to get the actress to sign on for Bright 2.
But again, it’s not like they can’t afford her. And besides, we’re told that other A-list stars are on their list as well. Jolie is certainly the one they’re most interested in, though, and with any luck, they’ll be able to snag her.
