Netflix has engaged an A-list cast for a new slate of films and TV shows this year, including several potential blockbusters, as it fights to maintain its dominance in the fiercely competitive streaming industry.
Executives stated at a Paris press conference Thursday that an armada of more than 80 films, including highly anticipated works from star filmmakers, will be released in 2022, speeding the company’s drive into exclusive content development.
Netflix has already established itself in Hollywood, most notably with “Don’t Look Up” and the gothic Western “The Power of the Dog,” which has received 12 Oscar nominations and is now leading the pack of Oscar candidates.
However, despite smash blockbusters like the macabre South Korean series “Squid Game,” the company’s membership growth has slowed in recent months, as viewers are enticed by competitor offerings from Apple, Amazon, HBO, and others.
“The Gray Man,” an action thriller starring Ryan Gosling and directed by the Russo brothers, who also helmed “Captain America: Winter Soldier” and other Marvel superhero films, will be released this year.
Daniel Craig, fresh off his svelte James Bond attire, will feature in a sequel to “Knives Out,” this time attempting to solve a crime in Greece, while Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” which was revealed nearly four years ago, will finally see the light of day.
Other comedies, dramas, horror, and family films will include Charlize Theron, Ana de Armas, Asa Butterfield, Jamie Foxx, Henry Cavill, Tilda Swinton, and Adam Driver, among others.
Overseas projects, which have frequently shown to have worldwide appeal, haven’t been forgotten, with 25 films planned for release in France and another 20 in the works.
Netflix will invest a total of 200 million euros ($220) in the French audiovisual sector this year, with about 40 million euros going toward the production of ten films that will be distributed in theatres.
