Dan Lin will replace Scott Stuber as head of Netflix films

Dan Lin

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Dan Lin, the producer behind Puzzle Games Movies and new live-action adaptation avatar: The Last Airbender, He has been tapped as Netflix's new head of film, according to sources.

Lane takes over the position vacated by Scott Stuber, who announced last January that he would step down in March.

Lin's name has been in the mix since the early days of the headhunt, along with former Disney executive Sean Bailey and Twilight producer Wick Godfrey, among a few others. Billy seemed like the perfect choice until he wasn't, as a Feb. 26 shakeup at Disney led to his departure after 15 runs at the Burbank-based studio.

Making a deal with Lin wasn't a slam dunk. Lane remains closely associated with Rideback, his prolific production company, and Rideback Rise, his equally powerful non-profit endeavor. The two entities have proven to be a stumbling block on previous occasions when he was vying for top positions in the executive management. In the summer of 2022, for example, he was in talks to oversee DC films and TV at Warner Bros., but those talks ultimately fell apart over questions about Rideback.

Under the new deal arrangements, Lin will depart Rideback, leaving partner Jonathan Eirich and Rideback COO Michael LoFaso as the new co-CEOs of the production company.

Lin already has ties to Netflix. He produced a horror film in 2017 Death note The 2019 Oscar-nominated drama Popes For the washer. Most importantly, he handled the difficult and sublime adaptation of the series The last air, which became a huge hit on home soil in its first few days, debuting at number one in 92 countries. It was made Airbender For Bela Bajaria, who ran the TV unit and was given oversight of the film division in January 2023, when Netflix named its COO.

Lin began his career as a junior executive at Warner Bros. Television. In the eighties, his works included The late one And 10,000 BC. Before he started working on his own and founded his own production company. As a producer, his films have grossed more than $5 billion globally, including his credits He. She And Sherlock Holmes Movies as well Puzzle Games films.

Lin enters Netflix in a very different landscape than his predecessor. Stober, who joined the company in 2017, used his talented connections to make the streamer palatable to the Hollywood community. Once he accomplished that, he pushed Netflix to expand into blockbuster films, courting filmmakers like Zack Snyder, the Russo Brothers, Michael Bay, and Rawson Marshall Thurber, and starting franchises like extraction, Gray manAnd Take out the knives.

Although the company has not publicly announced its cinematic goals, those aware of current thinking say Netflix is ​​trimming budgets and the number of its original films.