Streaming giant Netflix is still hoping to eventually launch its own major franchise. A franchise that will be akin to the likes of Star Wars and Harry Potter, should the platform have its way. The plans to build a franchise have been detailed in a report by Reuters, with Netflix looking to imitate the huge success shown by their ongoing series, Stranger Things.

The report continues, stating that Netflix teams are “plotting ways to milk more from Netflix’s bigger shows and movies with universes and characters they can return to again and again.” Which oddly sounds rather sinister. Netflix hopes to create content across a multitude of genres, and thus build a large library of movies and television shows for every taste and preference. Of course, everyone wants their own Star Wars or Harry Potter, but it’s not easy catching that particular lightning in a bottle.

“We want to have our version of ‘Star Wars’ or our version of ‘Harry Potter,’ and we’re working very hard to build that,” Matthew Thunell, the Netflix vice president who is cited as the man who found Stranger Things said of their approach to franchise filmmaking.” “But those are not built overnight.”

This franchise strategy comes at a difficult time for Netflix. Following several layoffs, subscriber losses, and shares crashing, the streaming service are now looking to bring in a less expensive membership tier that will include adverts. Of course, should Netflix suddenly discover a Star Wars-esque franchise, all their problems could be over. For a while, at least.

Several Upcoming Netflix Releases Are Being Planned as Franchises

     Netflix

There are already several projects in the Netflix pipeline being planned to spawn franchises. The likes of Enola Homes and action outings Extraction and The Old Guard currently have sequels currently in development, with Netflix due to collaborate with director Zack Snyder on several potential franchise-launching movies, including the recent release Army of the Dead and the upcoming sci-fi epic Rebel Moon.

Netflix will also debut both sequels to director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, with the first follow-up, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, scheduled to be released in late 2022. Netflix is also hoping to find franchise success with this week’s The Gray Man, which follows Ryan Gosling as an expert spy who finds himself the target of a manhunt after uncovering dark CIA secrets. Starring Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, and Regé-Jean Page, and directed by The Russo Brothers, The Gray Man marks a major investment for Netflix, with the streaming giant already planning both a sequel and a prequel.

The report from Reuters meanwhile highlights three upcoming projects that could potentially spawn the Star Wars-slash-Harry Potter franchise that they are hoping for. Thanks to the titles and stories being known already, and thus already possessing a fanbase, Netflix named The Three-Body Problem adaptation from Game of Thrones co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; the Japanese manga adaptation One Piece; and the live-action take of Avatar: The Last Airbender as the projects that could finally give them what they want and continue the success of Stranger Things once the popular series comes to an end.

It’s difficult not to wonder whether Netflix wants their own iconic franchise too much…