Netflix has fired its head of film, Dan Lin, after a series of reported clashes with some of Hollywood’s biggest filmmakers, including Greta Gerwig, David Fincher, and Ben Affleck. Lin, who joined the streaming giant in 2024, was brought on to cut costs and streamline production. But his efforts to rein in Netflix’s film budgets have created friction with the very filmmakers the company spent years courting. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos informed Lin of his termination on Friday, October 16. He’s exiting following a major reshuffling that cut roughly 1,000 jobs, including Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria and Lin’s No. 2, Doug Belgrad. The shakeup was partially tied to declining engagement and underwhelming stock performance, but one of the biggest controversies surrounding Lin involved Gerwig’s upcoming adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia.
According to Variety, Lin and Gerwig had a falling out during a Zoom meeting earlier this year about Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew. Reportedly, Lin was dismissive of the Barbie director talking about the progress of her $250 million film. The incident had Bajaria calling producer Amy Pascal to make peace, while Gerwig’s agent, Bryan Lourd, reportedly took the issue straight to Sarandos. Lin was removed from the supervision of Narnia. Though not cited as the immediate cause for Lin’s firing, it was not the only relationship that reportedly soured during his tenure.
David Fincher, one of the first big directors to work with Netflix, has reportedly ended his overall deal after a falling out with Lin over The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth. Fincher helped turn Netflix into a destination for prestige entertainment in 2013, when he directed the first two episodes of House of Cards. He then created Mindhunter and directed Mank and The Killer for the streamer. But the relationship soured when Fincher wanted extensive reshoots for the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follow-up and was allegedly only given a few more days of shooting. The movie stars Brad Pitt and is written by Quentin Tarantino, and it reportedly cost more than $200 million to make. Lin also apparently had a spat with Ben Affleck over his recently released film Animals. Ironically, the executive has had his share of hits, overseeing the releases of KPop Demon Hunters and Happy Gilmore 2. He also helped persuade Netflix to back theatrical releases of big projects, such as Gerwig’s Narnia. Unfortunately, those accomplishments weren’t enough to save his job.
There could be an intriguing side effect to the Netflix leadership shuffle. Peter Rice, the current chief content officer, is expected to find a replacement for Lin, and the movie arm could go to former Warner Bros. film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy. De Luca and Abdy presided over a stellar run at Warner Bros., including Sinners, A Minecraft Movie, and Weapons. But both executives were ousted after Paramount-Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, despite recent successes. Though they were also responsible for greenlighting the colossal bomb that is Tom Cruise’s Digger. Netflix had previously tried to buy Warner Bros. before pulling out of the deal. Now it might get what is arguably the studio’s greatest asset without spending billions to acquire the company. Given Lin’s reported struggles with filmmakers, two execs with proven ties throughout Hollywood could be more valuable to Netflix than another library of movies and TV shows.
