Netflix, already at the top of the nominations in the Oscar race with “The Power of the Dog”, is heading to the cinema with an armada of more than 80 films scheduled for 2022 and series aligning the big names in the sector.
The American streaming giant, which has established itself over the years as a major player in cinema between popular successes (“Don’t look up”, 2021) and author’s success (“Roma”, 2018; “The Power of the Dog”, 2021), brings out the big game with big Hollywood names, in both direction and interpretation: Jessica Chastain, Judd Apatow, Guillermo del Toro, Ryan Gosling, Daniel Craig… culminating in “The Gray Man”, the platform’s first blockbuster, announced the management of Netflix France in Paris during a press conference.
Directed by the Russo brothers (“Captain America”, “Avengers”), the film will be the first installment of an action film franchise. Its central character, a former CIA agent converted into a contract killer, is played by Ryan Gosling who will face Chris Evans among an audience of other stars including Ana de Armas, Wagner Moura, Dhanush or Regé-Jean Page.
In the vein of profitable film franchises, Netflix will also broadcast “Knives Out 2” where Daniel Craig, a young retired James Bond, will have to solve a new enigma in Greece.
Finally, almost four years following its announcement, the remake of the cartoon “Pinocchio” by Guillermo del Toro will be released in musical version. The new seasons of several flagship foreign series are also returning: “Stranger Things” (May 27 then July 1), “Peaky Blinders” (final season from June 10) and season 5 of “The Crown”.
In France, Netflix has announced the release of 25 French productions in 2022 and 20 works being filmed. In total, the platform will invest a total amount of 200 million euros this year in French audiovisual and cinema, of which 40 million will finance 10 films which will be released in theaters.
The vein of successful film sequels is also exploited here with the return at the beginning of May of Omar Sy, under contract for several years with the platform, in “Far from the ring road”, the sequel to “The other side of the road”. ” (2012), with Laurent Lafitte.
Also to come “Lost bullet 2”, following a first part which had accumulated more than 37 million views worldwide following its first month of operation in 2020, establishing the popularity of muscular French feature films such as “Bronx” or more recently “Without respite”, with Franck Gastambide.
The streaming giant is also betting on new talent by producing the first film by actress Rachel Suissa (“Mesrine”, “The truth if I lie 3”), “Les liaisonsdangereuses”, a contemporary adaptation of the novel by Choderlos de Laclos for a young adult audience. Other rising stars supported by Netflix: director Romain Gavras with “Athena”, co-written with Ladj Ly (“Les Miserables”) and Elias Belkeddar (“My Glory Days”), starring Dali Benssalah.
On the series side, the platform is betting in France on “Drôle”, a creation by screenwriter Fanny Herrero (“Dix pour cent”) which dives into the world of stand-up, but also on the documentary “Johnny by Johnny” on the French rock icon. She will also put French rap in the spotlight with “Nouvelle Ecole”, a docu-reality series in which Niska, Shay and SCH are looking for the next nugget of hip-hop. The series “Notre-Dame: la part du feu” on the fire of the famous Parisian cathedral, worn in particular by Roschdy Zem, Caroline Proust and Simon Abkarian, will be available this fall.
Among the hexagonal novelties announced: “In place” a series co-created by Jean-Pascal Zadi (“Simply black”) and the film “The King of Shadows”, a contemporary adaptation of an African legend imagined by rapper Kaaris.
