David Fincher’s ‘Squid Game’ U.S. Spinoff Shelved by Netflix — Is His Time at Netflix Up?

The other major update in that David Fincher report from The Playlist is that his “Squid Game” US spinoff has been shelved. It’s not happening.

Netflix is no longer moving forward with the series, which went by the working title “Heckler” and was supposed to have production take place in the UK. Dennis Kelly (“Utopia”) had been hired to write the scripts.

It wasn’t Fincher’s call either; it was Netflix’s, as the company’s “priorities for the franchise have shifted.” They have decided that concentrating the next iteration of ‘Squid Game’ around a US version is a bad idea, and they have a potential plan to make versions tailored for individual countries instead.

What does this all mean for Fincher? Hard to say. You’ll get inevitable theorizing that his days at Netflix are being counted, but that’s pure speculation at this point.

Fincher signed a four-year deal with Netflix in 2020, which was later extended through 2027. That means he has just one more year with them, and whether they opt to extend his contract beyond that is up to them. It should be mentioned that Fincher has basically only made Netflix content, whether TV or movies, since 2015. If he were to become a “free agent,” I’m sure a studio bidding war would occur to lock up Fincher.

Two years ago, Cannes boss Thierry Fremaux stated that Fincher was no longer playing “at the same level” because of Netflix. He added that “Fincher has left cinema.”

Fremaux is basically saying that because Fincher’s films are released on a streaming service, the quality of his work is somehow beneath what cinema should be. Is Fincher still making cinema? I think so. But it’d be foolish to believe that nothing has changed in terms of the trajectory he’s taken over the last decade. With the studio system closing its doors on many “auteur” filmmakers, Fincher wanted his creative freedom. He didn’t want to fight with studio heads anymore. His films tend to be very expensive, and Netflix allowed him to make them.

And yet, in a 2024 interview with Le Monde, Fincher seemed to firmly believe that Netflix was the best place in Hollywood to make movies. There was no hesitation on his part. He called Netflix the “industry standard” and the “future of cinema.”