After boasting over 11 million Netflix viewers in its first three days of release last week, Will Smith’s latest blockbuster, Bright, is getting a part two. The streaming network announced the sequel on their YouTube page with a parody of actors auditioning to play orcs in the film.
No date for the start of its production or its debut, however, director David Ayer and stars Smith and Joel Edgerton are set to return. Bright, which hit Netflix on December 22, is already the network’s most watched film ever. Smith, who has been one of the most bankable commodities in Hollywood for over two decades now, took a risk by choosing the unconventional route of having such a big budget film streamed instead of going to the theaters first.
But Netflix did pay Smith just like a major Hollywood would. The company reportedly shelled out $45 million dollars for Ayer and to pay the cast—that includes a buyout of their usual backend compensation—another $45 million for the movie’s production, and around $3 million dollars for the script by writer Max Landis. Not to mention the fortune they spent on marketing and promotion.
Smith says he was attracted to Netflix because of the chance to put out something trailblazing.
“I think it’s something like 190 countries, you know,” he beamed of Bright‘s reach at the Los Angeles premiere last month. “It’s exciting for me to be a part of this because it’s really a new world. Nobody knows what’s gonna happen, nor how it’s gonna turn out. It’s a new paradigm. A major Hollywood shift. If Netflix can do major blockbuster films, then that’s a game-changer.”
Although some critics blasted the fantasy film, fans seen to be on board for the most part.
Migos, who appear on the soundtrack, said together while on the red carpet, “The bright movie theater, you got the brightest artists in the world with all these bright diamonds, it’s only right we pull up tonight at Bright. On the carpet, the ‘bright’ way. The only way.”
“My boy Will Smith in it,” Quavo added. “We going crazy. It’s a lot of action, lot of struggle, lot of pain [in the movie].” Takeoff concluded, “Will Smith is in the movie. He inspired us.”
Bright’s soundtrack also features A$AP Rocky, Ty Dolla $ign, Future, Meek Mill, YG, Snoop Dogg, Lil Uzi Vert, and Machine Gun Kelly who appears on the lead cut “Home” with X Ambassadors and Bebe Rexha.
“‘Home’ was much more a metaphor than a physical place,” MGK explained. “I think it was a little harsh and dark at first. It was a song for this movie. The orcs are amazing. The makeup is ridiculous. It’s all amazing, but there is something deeper to it. When I saw it I was like, ‘Whoa!’ The elves look great and all, but there’s something deep in here. For this movie to be doing what’s it doing on such a big scale, something big is going on.”
Bright takes place in modern-day Los Angeles where mystical figures such as fairies, elves, and orcs live among humans, and follows beat cops Smith and Edgerton on a journey to protect a magic wand.