Michael Bay's $150 million 6 Underground, led by Ryan Reynolds, proved to be a big hit for Netflix, with 83 million household views taking in the latest action effort from the kind of all things that explode. Despite the film's strong performance, the movie will not be getting a sequel and a lot of the reason for that decision is because Netflix really thinks the film missed the mark creatively.
During a chat with "Variety", Netflix’s head of original films Scott Stuber admitted that Netflix wasn't really happy with how the film turned out internally. He acknowledges that the movie was a hit but nothing about there was nothing in the movie that justified a revisit:
"We didn’t feel like we got there on that one creatively. It was a nice hit, but at the end of the day we didn’t feel like we nailed the mark to justify coming back again. There just wasn’t that deep love for those characters or that world."
Netflix is all about franchise building right now so 6 Underground must have really been a bit of a creative mess for the streamer to pass on giving the film a sequel. Enola Holmes and The Old Guard, which also did well on the platform, didn't reach the level of views that 6 Underground did but they have sequels in active development. The Mark Wahlberg-led Spenser Confidential and Extraction, led by Chris Hemsworth, will also be getting the sequel and franchise treatment. 6 Underground even had a big star in Ryan Reynolds attached so it's very telling that the platform is passing on exploring that universe again.
Netflix wants their movies to break into the pop culture stratosphere much like their shows such as Bridgerton have. Stuber admits that they haven't quite gotten there with their films but their goal is to still make their movies more culturally relevant:
"We have to be more consistent at making these movies more culturally relevant and putting them in the zeitgeist. We know the audience is there for these movies, but I want people to feel that impact in their conversations with friends and colleagues where they’re saying did you hear about this movie ‘Old Guard’? We’ve done it, but we haven’t done it consistently."
In 6 Underground, six individuals from all around the globe, each the very best at what they do, have been chosen not only for their skill but for a unique desire to delete their pasts to change the future. The film's reviews were poor, registering a 36% rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes, although Reynolds and the action sequences did receive positive notices. The movie also stars Melanie Laurent, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Adria Arjona, Corey Hawkins, Ben Hardy, and Dave Franco.
Do YOU think 6 Underground missed the mark creatively? Why do YOU think Netflix films haven't reached the cultural heights of some of their popular TV shows?