Netflix are keen to build as many in-house franchises as possible to continue powering the platform’s lineup of original content for years to come, but the boardroom remains on the lookout for that generational property that will make audiences fall in love the way they did the first time they saw Star Wars or Harry Potter.
Don’t get us wrong, multi-film brands built out from Extraction, The Old Guard, Enola Holmes, The Gray Man, Army of the Dead and more are a good thing, but it would also be fair to say that the company is still looking for its golden goose, so to speak; something with the potential to rival the likes of a galaxy far, far away, the Wizarding World or the Marvel Cinematic Universe in terms of universal appeal and popularity.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, the latest candidate to enter development is Beasts of Prey, the debut novel by Ayana Gray that doesn’t even hit bookshelves until next week. Intended as the first installment in an ongoing literary series, the plot follows two teenagers who form a dangerous alliance, heading out on a treacherous journey to hunt down the monster that’s been terrorizing their hometown, where they stumble upon deadly secrets and shocking conspiracies along the way.
While that’s not the most ingenious logline you’ll hear for the YA genre, Beasts of Prey has been generating some promising buzz ahead of its release. Having one of the biggest production houses in the business swoop in to put a feature length adaptation in place before the book is even released shows that it must have some serious cinematic potential, so we’ll be curious to see how readers react when they get their hands on the paperback.
