It’s been quite a while since Netflix made the transition from a film and television streaming service to a successful production company, so long in fact that some people have forgotten that there was a time when the company didn’t make its own programming. Netflix productions now attract big-name actors like Sandra Bullock in the post-apocalyptic thriller Bird Box, Chris Hemsworth in 2020’s Extraction, and Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio in the site’s current big hit Don’t Look Up.
Netflix is also making moves into the video game space, acquiring indie developer Night School Studio in September 2021 and launching a gaming app for Android and iOS in November that same year. Additionally, some Fortnite fans are convinced that a crossover with Extraction will take place when the sequel releases sometime in 2022. Last year in August, data mining uncovered a Fortnite skin that closely resembled the outfit worn in Extraction by Chris Hemsworth’s character Tyler Rake.
That might not be the only foray into the gaming space for the Extraction films, though, because the budding franchise may be getting a fully fledged video game. Joe and Anthony Russo, the film directors who helped author the graphic novel on which Extraction is based, are apparently already in talks with Netflix to make a video game based on the movie. And Nexon, the Japanese gaming giant, also announced on Wednesday that it had acquired a 38 percent stake in ABGO, the Russo brothers’ independent film company behind the production of Extraction.
In a press release, Nexon stated that the $400 million deal is partly intended to allow the company to “further support AGBO’s development, production, and ownership of… entertainment universes appealing to worldwide audiences.” If AGBO requests, Nexon has committed to invest an additional $100 million in the first half of 2022. AGBO co-founder Mike Larocca added that Nexon’s investment in the company has increased the production studio’s ability to tell stories “across all forms of media.” And Nick Van Dyk, Nexon’s President of Film & Television, pointed out that expansion into film and TV tends to result in higher engagement and longevity for game franchises.
The Russo brothers don’t just aspire to expand the world of Extraction into the video game space, however. The film currently has the distinction of being the third most-watched movie in Netflix's history, and the directors hope to build a cinematic universe of Extraction films set in the same storyline. Besides Hemsworth’s role as Tyler Rake, there are other characters in Extraction like David Harbour’s Gaspar whose experiences could make for interesting stories.
Extraction 2 is currently in production.
Sources: Nexon, The Hollywood Reporter