Netflix Fends Off Competition To Acquire Will Smith Supernatural Cop Thriller Bright

In a deal said to be worth around $90 million, The Wrap brings word today that Netflix has closed a deal to acquire the Will Smith-Joel Edgerton supernatural cop thriller, Bright.

Word of the project first broke little over a fortnight ago, when Warner Bros./MGM and PalmStar’s Kevin Frakes were circling. As The Wrap points out, those initial pitches included a relatively big theatrical release, and though Netflix has still carved out plans to bring Bright to theaters day-and-date with its online premiere, this is arguably one of the biggest whales for Netflix to date, and will no doubt drive that subscriber count.

Featuring a script by Max Landis (Chronicle/Me, Him, Her), with the core plot anchoring Smith and Edgerton’s supernatural escapades reading like a concoction of Men in Black and End of Watch. Speaking of the latter buddy cop duo, David Ayer is on board to helm the feature film, with the official logline describing Landis’ pitch as so:

“The setting is a world where magical creatures live side by side with humans and the police have a division handling crimes involving magic. A human cop (Smith) is forced to work with an Orc (Edgerton) to find something that unsavory elements are prepared to kill for — a powerful wand.”

Having wrapped up their work on Suicide Squad, expect David Ayer and Will Smith to fire up production on Bright at some point in the fall. Filming will primarily take place in Los Angeles.