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Netflix has already ordered a sequel for its fantasy blockbuster Bright

Netflix has already ordered a sequel for its fantasy blockbuster Bright

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Will Smith is set to return

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Image: Netflix

Netflix’s big blockbuster Bright doesn’t debut on the streaming service until December 22nd, but the company is already plotting out its next steps. Bloomberg reports that the company has ordered a sequel to the fantasy cop film, with Will Smith set to star again.

Bright is set in an alternate world where fantasy creatures exist and tend to stir up trouble for society. Smith stars as LAPD police officer Daryl Ward, whose partner is an orc named Jakoby (Joel Edgerton). In his review, my colleague Bryan Bishop noted that Bright’s world was clearly designed to set up innumerable sequels, with a big antagonist lurking on the horizon. At last week’s film premiere, producer Eric Newman said there’s “enough material unexplored within the world” to warrant visiting again. Ayers hasn’t ruled out returning to the possible franchise.

Netflix has become a major player in Hollywood in recent years, and it’s planning to increase its catalog to 50 percent original content by the end of 2018. While it’s best known for high-profile, critically acclaimed television shows, films like Bright and Okja show that the company’s ambitions lie beyond serialized TV. Bright, it seems, is the first entry in what Netflix hopes will be a bigger franchise designed to bring blockbusters into subscribers’ living rooms before they ever hit theaters.