Netflix & David Fincher Partnership to End!!

One of Netflix‘s longest relationships is coming to an end. In the wake of the departure of other high-profile names like Shawn Levy and Matt and Ross Duffer to greener pastures at other mega-media conglomerates, Netflix has now lost the creator whose vision helped turn it from a streaming service to an entertainment giant. David Fincher is reportedly set to depart the streamer in the near future.

It’s difficult to comprehend what Netflix was before it linked up with Fincher. In 2013, it was merely a streaming service that licensed out movies and TV series from Hollywood studios; those studios largely had yet to form their own streaming services. But in 2013, they partnered with Fincher, then one of the hottest directors in Hollywood, to remake the British political thriller series House of Cards. With a magnetic lead performance from Kevin Spacey, the series became a huge hit, and a fundamental building block in Netflix‘s TV and movie strategy for the next decade; even the iconic Netflic “tudum” sound effect comes from the series. Fincher has gone on to have a long and fruitful relationship with the streamer.

Now, the news comes from business news site Bloomberg that Fincher will leave the streamer after his current contract is up. Fincher is now in post-production on The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel that is set to get a rare-for-Netflix theatrical run in November before hitting the streamer right before Christmas. The decision comes in the wake of Netflix shutting down Squid Game: America, Fincher’s English-language version of the hit dystopian series that became a Netflix sensation in 2021.

What Did David Fincher Make for Netflix?

Before Cliff Booth, Fincher‘s two most recent films opened exclusively on Netflix: Mank, a biopic of Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, and The Killer, which starred Michael Fassbender as an assassin on a quest for revenge. Fincher was also active on the TV side of Netflix; in addition to House of Cards, he produced and directed the serial killer drama Mindhunter. Fincher‘s departure means that the long-desired third season of that series, which was becoming increasingly unlikely, will not come to pass. He also produced the animated anthology series Love, Death & Robots, and the cinematic video essay series Voir.