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Netflix is gearing up for its next project with David Fincher. Sources tell us the Oscar-winning director has been tapped to direct Bitterroot (formerly known as Big Hole), a Western crime thriller for the streamer.
Fincher, who works with Netflix under an overall deal, has collaborated with the streamer since the late 2010s. Mindhunter and House of Cards were the first major projects he worked on for Netflix (currently on permanent hiatus), and he also worked on the two feature films Mank and, most recently, The Killer. Fincher remains an executive producer on the animated anthology series Love, Death and Robots, which has been renewed for a fourth season.
Michael Gilio is the writer behind the script, which originally debuted as part of the 2008 Black List when it was originally titled Big Hole. Gilio is best known for his recent Paramount movie, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Other credits include Kwik Stop, The Raven, and Dark Harvest.
The script was previously in the works to be brought to the big screen, with Deadline reporting in 2011 that Blind Wink Productions and Aversano Films were working on it with Gilio on board to both write and direct and Gore Verbinski to produce. Numerous reviews of the original script can be found online, including on Script Shadow, which are all generally very praising.
Big Hole by Michael Gilio in the 2008 Black List
The movie’s premise concerns an elderly rancher whose life savings have been stolen. He sets out to get his money back by robbing banks and hunting down the thieves—all while being pursued by his son, who is the sheriff. Sources tell us that it’s made in the vein of the Clint Eastwood classic Unforgiven.
Netflix declined to comment on this story. We hear that offers have been made to two leads for the upcoming movie, though, with this likely being Fincher’s next project to begin production.
To our understanding, this is one of four new projects Fincher is actively working on at Netflix.
Over the weekend, we published a preview of a series he’s producing, the US spin-off of Squid Game, which is expected to be titled Squid Game: America. He’s also behind the Chinatown spin-off that’s been in the works since 2019, which was recently revealed to have completed the script over the summer. However, the project is still awaiting final approval from Netflix, with budget concerns currently holding it up.
Squid Game – Picture: Netflix
In addition, there’s an untitled crime thriller, but we don’t have any details about it other than that it is in the very early stages of development.
One other title rumored to be in the works is Strangers, a remake of the Hitchcock movie, but we’ve confirmed with several sources this isn’t the case.
Are you looking forward to Fincher’s next movie at Netflix? Let us know in the comments.
