Netflix said on Wednesday that the producer Dan Lin would replace Scott Stuber as the streaming company’s top film executive.
Mr. Stuber was the head of Netflix Film for seven years before announcing last month that he would be leaving. During his tenure, he brought a bevy of Oscar-winning filmmakers to Netflix and helped the company push the rest of the entertainment industry into the streaming era.
Mr. Lin, 50, who was once the senior vice president of production at Warner Bros., is the founder of Rideback Productions, which was behind Netflix’s recent live-action remake of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” He was also a producer of the Oscar-nominated film “The Two Popes” for the streaming service, and has produced the “It” and “Lego” movie franchises. He will report to Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer.
“While I’ve been approached many times during my past 15 years at Rideback, I could truly never imagine leaving until Bela reached out with this incredible opportunity,” Mr. Lin said in a statement.
The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Mr. Lin is part of the new guard of producers who have built companies that tap into the times, notably inclusion. He is known in Hollywood as a strong executive with great relationships. And his ability to toggle between all-audience blockbusters like “Aladdin” and prestige pictures like “The Two Popes” suggests he has the skills to oversee Netflix’s varied film slate. He’s currently producing the live-action version of “Lilo & Stitch” for Walt Disney.
Most recently, Mr. Lin’s name had been bandied for the job running DC Studios for Warner Bros. (That role was eventually split between the filmmaker James Gunn and the producer Peter Safran.)
Yet, the role Mr. Lin will occupy at Netflix is likely to be far different than the one Mr. Stuber did. During Mr. Stuber’s tenure, budgets were huge and oversight was scant. He was responsible for bringing acclaimed filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Alfonso Cuarón and Jane Campion to the streaming service. Their Netflix films later landed multiple Oscar nominations. Mr. Stuber also spent lavishly on visual effects-heavy spectacles with A-list stars like “Red Notice” and “The Gray Man,” which were trounced by critics but performed well on the service.
Now, Netflix intends to pare down the number of films it makes every year significantly and place a greater emphasis on quality control. The streaming giant has also benefited greatly recently from other studios’ willingness to license their films. In its most recent most-watched list, six of the 10 most popular movies on the service were from other studios.
Netflix also remains firmly committed to its streaming-first strategy, even while other streaming services like Apple and Amazon are dipping their toes into the theatrical marketplace. The streaming giant, however, does not seem inclined to indulge filmmakers who want their films to be in theaters before becoming available to Netflix subscribers — a factor that could prove challenging for Mr. Lin as he tries to build his own slate of films.
“A lot of other companies and businesses do theatrical, and it’s a great business for them,” Ms. Bajaria said at a recent press event. “It’s just not our business.”
Brooks Barnes contributed reporting.
