It's Officially the End of an Era for Netflix and David Fincher

Published Sep 29, 2026, 5:28 PM EDT

A cinematic obsessive with the filmic palate of a starving raccoon, Rob London will watch pretty much anything once. With a mind like a steel trap, he's an endless fount of movie and TV trivia, borne from a misspent youth of watching monster movies on TV, perusing the sun-faded goods at the local video rental shop, and staining his fingers with ink from the Video Movie Guide. Areas of interest include science fiction, film noir, horror flicks, '70s disaster pictures, Bond movies, '90s action, giant robots, dinosaurs, super heroes, and the exuberantly schlocky output of Cannon Films. He also enjoys both Star Trek and Star Wars when they're good, and maybe even more when they're bad. As a Canadian, he also has a vested interest in Canadian movies and TV shows, especially the cheesier ones dubbed "Canuxploitation."

An expert on Marvel Comics, he has also written for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and is a member of the Marvel Research Team. He can frequently be found pontificating on comic-book continuity or bemoaning the misfortunes of the Toronto Maple Leafs on his Twitter account.

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This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

One of Netflix's longest relationships is coming to an end. In the wake of the departure of other high-profile names like Shawn Levy and Matt and Ross Duffer to greener pastures at other mega-media conglomerates, Netflix has now lost the creator whose vision helped turn it from a streaming service to an entertainment giant. David Fincher is reportedly set to depart the streamer in the near future.

It's difficult to comprehend what Netflix was before it linked up with Fincher. In 2013, it was merely a streaming service that licensed out movies and TV series from Hollywood studios; those studios largely had yet to form their own streaming services. But in 2013, they partnered with Fincher, then one of the hottest directors in Hollywood, to remake the British political thriller series House of Cards. With a magnetic lead performance from Kevin Spacey, the series became a huge hit, and a fundamental building block in Netflix's TV and movie strategy for the next decade; even the iconic Netflic "tudum" sound effect comes from the series. Fincher has gone on to have a long and fruitful relationship with the streamer.

Now, the news comes from business news site Bloomberg that Fincher will leave the streamer after his current contract is up. Fincher is now in post-production on The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel that is set to get a rare-for-Netflix theatrical run in November before hitting the streamer right before Christmas. The decision comes in the wake of Netflix shutting down Squid Game: America, Fincher's English-language version of the hit dystopian series that became a Netflix sensation in 2021.