Dan Lin has been dismissed as Netflix‘s head of film after almost three years, multiple sources tell Variety.
Even if expected, it’s a significant shoe to drop following a layoff bloodbath last week at the streamer. Roughly 1,000 employees got the chop, capped by the shock firing of chief content Bela Bajaria. Lin was let go at the start of the weekend, two sources added, and will address his teams throughout the day on Monday. The executive attended Saturday’s Academy Gala, and was spotted Sunday evening at a tastemaker screening for “La Bola Negra” on the Netflix campus.
A Netflix spokesperson had no immediate comment on the matter. It’s unclear who will replace Lin, though an announcement is expected in the coming days. Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, the former heads of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, have been widely speculated to be speaking with the streamer about a possible role at the company.
Netflix is embarking on a major creative restructuring after months of headlines citing engagement problems and stock stagnation — all in the aftermath of its defeated bid for Warner Bros. — namely in hiring the seasoned film and TV executive Peter Rice to replace Bajaria. In the days leading up to his ouster, Lin watched as layoffs claimed his right hand Doug Belgrad and the film vertical’s indie head Sheroum Kim.
Lin’s ascension to the top Netflix film job turned heads in 2024. The accomplished producer sat atop a thriving self-made business in Rideback. That production house is best known for building the animated “Lego” film franchise, Stephen King’s “It” adaptations and the “Sherlock Holmes” movies.
He departed Rideback to replace longtime film lead Scott Stuber. In a June sit-down with The New York Times, Lin said that he greenlit or acquired 88 movies for Netflix up to that point, with the standouts being “Apex,” “Emelia Perez,” “Here Comes the Flood,” “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth” and Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.”
More to come …
Jack Dunn contributed to this post.