This shouldn't come as a major surprise to anyone who has been following David Fincher's work for the past few years, but the director is reportedly set to make Netflix his exclusive home for the next four years. Fincher's last theatrical film was GONE GIRL for 20th Century Fox back in 2014, and since then, he's been unofficially exclusive with the streaming service, developing projects such as House of Cards, Love, Death & Robots, Mindhunter, and the upcoming MANK.
While speaking with French magazine Premiere (via The Playlist), David Fincher confirmed that he'd signed an exclusive four year contract with Netflix.
Yes, I have an exclusivity deal with [Netflix] for another four years. And depending on ‘Mank’s’ reception, I’ll either go see them sheepishly asking them what I can do to redeem myself or take the attitude of the arrogant asshole who’ll require making other films in black and white. [Laughs] No, I’m here to deliver them ‘content’ — whatever it means— likely to bring them spectators, in my small sphere of influence.
This deal has apparently been in the works for a while, with The Playlist guessing that it's a major one worth over nine-figures. Netflix does love throwing money around, but it will be exciting to see what Fincher does when he's given free rein to do pretty much whatever he wants. "Now [because] I signed this Netflix deal it’s also because I’d like to work like Picasso painted, to try very different things, to try to break the shape or change the operating mode," Fincher explained. "I like the idea of ??having a body of work. And yes, I admit that it feels strange, after forty years in this profession, to only have ten films under my belt. Well, eleven, but ten that I can say are mine. Yes, objectively, it is a pretty terrifying observation."
Fincher's next film will be MANK, which chronicles Herman Mankiewicz’s (Gary Oldman) race to finish the screenplay for CITIZEN KANE for Orson Welles (Tom Burke). The film has already been receiving some rave reviews, including one from our own Chris Bumbray, but you'll be able to check out the film for yourself when it streams on Netflix on December 4, 2020. The film will also receive a limited theatrical release on November 13th, but I would imagine there aren't many of us in a position to see it at this point.