Netflix has confirmed it has greenlit a sequel to last month’s fantasy cop drama Bright with stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton, along with director David Ayer, all expected to return for the follow-up.
Bright takes place in a fictional Los Angeles filled with fairies, elves and magic while acting as an allegory for real-world race relations. Smith plays a veteran cop who reluctantly takes on a new partner, an Orc (Edgerton) and has to protect a magical wand from cops, criminals and an array of supernatural characters.
One key change is that Ayer is taking over scripting duties and will pen the screenplay alone, replacing Max Landis who sold the film as a spec script in 2016. Eric Newman and Bryan Unkeless are also returning as producers.
The $90 million budget film was largely panned by critics, but is currently the No. 1 movie on Netflix in over 190 countries and is being streamed more by international users than domestic.
Netflix has also released a quick fun video about the news, making fun of the possible title, and mentioning the film’s most frequent criticism of its similarity to Alien Nation.
