Will Smith coming back for 'Bright' sequel from Netflix

Justin Kroll
Updated

Following the success of “Bright,” Netflix is moving forward with a sequel. Will Smith and Joel Edgerton are attached to reprise their roles, with David Ayer returning to write and direct the second installment.

Writer Max Landis won’t be back for the next film. Eric Newman and Bryan Unkeless are set as producers.

Netflix teased the announcement with a video of orcs auditioning for the sequel. The characters have been a significant component of the film’s promotions.

“ANNOUNCEMENT: Orc auditions for the @BrightNetflix sequel are now closed. Thank you. Have a nice day,” the official Netflix account tweeted.

Nielsen recently announced that the first pic, which premiered on Dec. 22, was viewed by 11 million people in its first three days of release. This means it was less popular than “Stranger Things” Season 2, but a bigger hit than the second season of “The Crown.”

Netflix touted “Bright” as the highest-viewed original film ever on the service in its launch week and one of the biggest originals it has ever debuted. They also added that “Bright” is the No. 1 movie on Netflix in every country, with more international than domestic viewers.

“Bright” stars Smith and Edgerton as two LAPD police officers — one human, one orc, respectively — who are paired together in an alternate universe populated by fantastical creatures in addition to humans. The film was panned by most critics for its heavy-handed social commentary, which drew parallels between real-life class and racial divisions and the tension between the different races of mythical creatures in the film. Variety‘s Peter Debruge gave the film a glowing review, however, referring to it as Netflix’s “best original movie to date.”

The film reportedly cost Netflix $90 million to produce.

 

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