David Fincher, Director of ‘Fight Club,’ to Exit Netflix Deal

Renowned filmmaker David Fincher has opted not to renew his deal at Netflix Inc., marking a turning point in a long relationship with the world's most valuable entertainment company, according to people familiar with the matter.

One of the most accomplished directors of the 21st century, Fincher’s films include Fight Club, Zodiac and The Social Network. He signed an exclusive deal with Netflix in 2020 and has made his last three movies for the streaming service — Mank, The Killer and the upcoming The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, starring Brad Pitt. His current deal expires next year.

Fincher isn’t leaving Netflix for a rival studio and could still make his next movie at the company, said the people, who declined to be identified discussing information that isn’t public. Yet he doesn’t feel the need to have a large overall deal with any company right now. Directors and producers typically use these agreements to cover the overhead for their companies.

A representative for Fincher declined comment.

The move adds to a string of several long-term Netflix partners who have walked away. Earlier this week, Shawn Levy, the producer of Stranger Things, one of the biggest hits on Netflix, announced he is moving over his TV business to Walt Disney Co. Levy’s exit follows the Duffer brothers, creators of Stranger Things, who also left and signed a deal with Paramount Skydance Corp. A few weeks ago, Noah Baumbach, the director of Marriage Story and White Noise, signed a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. Baumbach had made his last four movies for Netflix while Levy had been in a deal at the company since 2017.

Fincher has worked at Netflix for longer than just about any creative, starting as a director and executive producer of the service’s landmark original series House of Cards. In addition to the aforementioned three films, he also produced the TV series Mindhunter and Love, Death & Robots.

The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, a sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, will be released by Netflix in a large number of cinemas in October. It’s a historically rare move for the streaming company as it seeks to appease a growing number of filmmakers who want their work distributed in theaters.

Netflix has been struggling to convince Wall Street that it has a viable growth strategy after it lost out on a bid for Warner Bros. Those concerns have deepened in recent months as Netflix has struggled to produce as many new hits as it normally does. Shares in the company have slipped more than 20% this year and more than 40% over the last 12 months.