Netflix have taken some major strides over the last few years in their efforts to be recognized as a serious player in the film and TV industry, with the streaming service racking up a huge number of awards nominations and some serious critical acclaim in the process. The billions being invested into their original content and promise of full creative freedom have also seen some of the most high-profile filmmakers in Hollywood make the jump in order to avoid the minefield of studio politics.
Two movies in particular from last year sum up Netflix’s new approach to taking over the industry, and they couldn’t be more different. On one hand, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman saw one of the greatest directors in history spend $200 million to finally realize one of his passion projects with an all-star cast and cutting-edge de-aging technology, with the end result being ten Academy Award nominations and widespread praise.
On the other, you had Michael Bay’s 6 Underground, which saw the director take his signature style of action-driven mayhem to the small screen as Netflix sought to prove they could also be a force in the blockbuster business. As is the case with most of Bay’s output, the reviews weren’t especially kind, but fans ate it up, and over 80 million people reportedly watched it in the first month it was available.
The movie left itself wide open to sequels, too, something star Ryan Reynolds has admitted he’s interested in, and now we’ve heard from our sources – the same ones who told us Transformers is being rebooted and Ahsoka Tano will appear in The Mandalorian season 2, both of which were correct –Â that Netflix have plans to turn 6 Underground into a trilogy, and are even considering giving Dave Franco’s Six his own spinoff. Plot details and the like remain unknown at this early, early stage, but the streaming giant is apparently planning on doing a lot more with the property, and that can only be good news for fans of the original.
Of course, nobody seems entirely sure how Netflix’s metrics work, but the movie must have done extremely well for them if they’re willing to invest what would be at least another $300 million in production costs alone to extend their working relationship with Michael Bay. 6 Underground is nowhere near his best work, but it ticks all the boxes that you would expect from anything with his name on it, and that was apparently enough to leave audiences wanting more.
