Netflix Previews 21 Films Coming in 2020: David Fincher, Spike Lee, Charlie Kaufman, and More
Zack Sharf
Netflix Film has kicked off the new year by previewing the 21 original feature films confirmed for 2020 releases as of January 3. This list will surely grow as Netflix acquires content out of film festivals such as Sundance later this month, but for now Netflix has a 2020 slate chock full of auteur-driven original dramas. Netflix is coming off of its most lucrative year in cinema yet thanks to Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” among other titles (if “The Two Popes” is embraced by the Academy, Netflix could have three Best Picture noms in 2020), and it looks like the streaming giant will continue to soar in 2020 with works from David Fincher, Spike Lee, Dee Rees, Ben Wheatley, Charlie Kaufman, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and more.
Perhaps Netflix’s most anticipated 2020 feature film is “Mank,” the first feature directorial effort from David Fincher since the 2014 release of “Gone Girl.” The movie is expected to launch in the fall as one of the streamer’s top Oscar contenders. Gary Oldman stars as Herman J. Mankiewicz, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Citizen Kane.” The supporting cast includes Amanda Seyfried, Charles Dance, and Lily Collins.
Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” stars Chadwick Boseman, Paul Walter Hauser, Norm Lewis, Delroy Lindo, and Jonathan Majors in the story of four African American vets who return to Vietnam, searching for the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure. The film is Lee’s first since winning an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay with “BlacKkKlansman.”
Ben Wheatley is reuniting with his “Free Fall” star Armie Hammer for a new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel “Rebecca,” famously adapted in 1940 by Alfred Hitchcock. Charlie Kaufman’s latest is “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” starring Jesse Plemons and Jessie Buckley as a couple who take a road trip that becomes a twisted mix of palpable tension, psychological frailty, and sheer terror.
On the documentary side, Netflix has the return of “Cameraperson” favorite Kirsten Johnson with “Dick Johnson Is Dead,” which finds the filmmaker seeking a way to keep her 86-year-old father alive forever by staging fantasies of death. Both “Dick Johnson Is Dead” and Dee Rees’ “The Last Thing He Wanted” are set for Sundance world premieres.
Expect premiere dates for these films to drop in the coming months. Click the first Tweet below for a full thread of Netflix’s 21 original feature films set for 2020. IndieWire has also included some highlights below.
Another year of movies is ahead of us! We’ve mentioned a lot of these films already, but here’s a handy list of all the films coming to Netflix this year…so far. (thread)
— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020
THE OLD GUARD: From director Gina Prince-Bythewood, Charlize Theron and Kiki Layne lead a covert group of immortal mercenaries who must fight to keep their team together when they discover the existence of a new immortal and their extraordinary abilities are exposed.
— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020
MANK: From director David Fincher, the story centers around the writing of CITIZEN KANE. Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Charles Dance, and Lily Collins star.
— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020
REBECCA: Director Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel (adapted by Hitchcock in 1940) follows a newly-married young woman (Lily James) who finds herself battling the shadow of her husband’s (Armie Hammer) dead first wife, the mysterious Rebecca.
— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020
DA 5 BLOODS: The latest Spike Lee joint follows four African American vets who return to Vietnam, searching for the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure. Chadwick Boseman, Paul Walter Hauser, Norm Lewis, Delroy Lindo, and Jonathan Majors star.
— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020
I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS: A road trip becomes a twisted mix of palpable tension, psychological frailty, and sheer terror in the latest from Charlie Kaufman, starring Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette, and David Thewlis.
— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020
DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD: In this inventive portrait, director Kirsten Johnson (CAMERAPERSON) seeks a way to keep her 86-year-old father alive forever by staging fantasies of death and beyond. Together, dad and daughter confront the great inevitability awaiting us all.
— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020
