Netflix continues to churn out great content and on the first day of March, the streaming service released trailers and more information for a group of new movies and a new TV show.
Let’s start off with the TV show Mindhunter.
Mindhunter is set to debut in October and is the brainchild of David Fincher, who also helped launched one of Netflix’s first major hits in House of Cards.
The series has an interesting premise according to The Verge.
“A pair of FBI agents who interview imprisoned serial killers to solve unsolved cases.”
Mindhunter takes place in 1979 and has a stacked cast, including Jonathan Groff (Glee, Frozen, American Sniper), Holt McCallany (Fight Club, Gangster Squad, Sully), Anna Torv (Fringe), and Cotter Smith (X-Men 2, The Americans).
Along with the great cast, the producing crew includes Fincher and another big name in actress Charlize Theron. Fincher and Theron will co-produce the series, while Fincher is also directing three episodes.
The series itself is based on a book that was released way back in 1996 called Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit. The non-fiction book was written by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker.
The first movie trailer released by Netflix on Wednesday we’ll get to was for a movie starring none other than Brad Pitt, entitled War Machine.
It will be released on Netflix on May 26th and here is Netflix’s description of the film:
“A rock star general bent on winning the “impossible” war in Afghanistan takes us inside the complex machinery of modern war. Inspired by a true story.”
Brad Pitt stars in the movie as the real life General Stanley A. McChrystal. The rest of the cast is great as well: Tilda Swinton (Moonrise Kingdom, Michael Clayton), Lakeith Stanfield (Straight Outta Compton, Atlanta), Anthony Michael Hall (The Dark Knight, The Breakfast Club), Emory Cohen (Brooklyn, The OA), Ben Kingsley (Schindler’s List, Shutter Island), Topher Grace (That 70’s Show, Interstellar), Will Poulter (The Revenant, The Maze Runner), Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Exorcist), and many others.
The movie is written and directed by David Michod (Animal Kingdom) and “recreates a U.S. General’s roller-coaster rise and fall as part reality, part savage parody.” Along with being inspired by real life events, it’s also inspired by the book The Operators: The Wild & Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan by late journalist Michael Hastings.
Another movie announced by Netflix is entitled Okja, and its story is very different than both Mindhunter and War Machine.
Okja will be released on June 28th and comes with the following description:
“The film follows Mija, a young girl who must risk everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named ‘Okja’.”
Just like the others, the cast is pretty impressive and led by War Machine cast member Tilda Swinton. Along with Swinton, the cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Zodiac), Lily Collins (The Blind Side, Mirror Mirror), Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, Looper), Devon Bostick (The 100, Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Giancarlo Esposito (The Usual Suspects, The Jungle Book), and Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead, I Origins), among others.
The movie is currently in post production and was directed and written by Joon-ho Bong (Snowpiercer, Mother).
The other major movie announced by Netflix is also the last to come out, and won’t be released until December. It’s titled Bright and stars Will Smith.
Here’s Netflix’s description of the film:
“Set in an alternate present-day where humans, orcs, elves, and fairies have been co-existing since the beginning of time. Bright is genre-bending action movie that follows two cops from very different backgrounds. Ward (Will Smith) and Jakoby (Joel Edgerton), embark on a routine patrol night and encounter a darkness that will ultimately alter the future and their world as they know it.”
As you read, Will Smith (Men in Black, I Am Legend) and Joel Edgerton (Black Mass, The Great Gatsby) will star in the movie. Along with Smith and Edgerton, the cast includes Noomi Rapace (Prometheus, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Ike Barinholtz (Suicide Squad, The Mindy Project), Edgar Ramirez (The Bourne Ultimatum, Hands of Stone), Lucy Fry (Mr. Church, 11.22.63), and Dawn Olivieri (House of Lies, The Last Witch Hunter).
Bright is directed by David Ayer who is known for writing and directing Suicide Squad, Fury, and more. Max Landis is also co-writing the movie after having written Chronicle and American Ultra.
Overall, all three movies and the TV show look interesting (to say the least) and seem like they’ll hold their own for Netflix in the coming months.
