One of Netflix’s biggest action movie hits is becoming a TV series with a top star attached. It’s been a trend to turn movies into TV shows for quite a long time. Streaming services offer more opportunities to expand the storylines of a film from classics to more modern movies.
There’s also been turning some films into franchises, from the MCU to Prime Video’s The Rings of Power. Now, Netflix is pulling this move on one of their bigger action movie franchises.
Deadline has confirmed that plans are underway for a TV series based on the hit action film Extraction. It comes from that movie’s writer/directors Joe and Anthony Russo with showrunner Glen Mazzara.
The as-yet-untitled series will star Omar Sy, star of the hit French crime caper Lupin, as a mercenary who “navigates a dangerous mission to rescue hostages in Libya. Trapped between warring factions and ruthless killers, the series delves into the emotional struggles of conflicted and flawed characters, each facing trauma, betrayal and life-or-death choices.”
Peter Friedlander, VP Scripted Series at Netflix said in a statement to Deadline:
“Audiences are in for a thrill as we delve deeper into the Extraction universe. With Omar Sy leading the charge, our collaboration with the Russos, alongside Glen Mazzara, fans can expect even more of the high-octane adventures they love from the Extraction franchise.”
Extraction debuted on Netflix in 2020. Based on a cult comic book, it starred Chris Hemsworth as Rake, a black ops mercenary whose mission to rescue a girl goes awry. The show was a huge hit after it premiered and inspired a 2023 sequel with Hemsworth trying to rescue the family of a Georgian gangster. Both movies were praised by action film fans for their amazing action sequences.
While there haven’t been plans for a third film, turning this into a TV show is interesting.
Can an Extraction show work?
This isn’t the first time Netflix has tried franchising a movie into a TV show. The massively popular To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before movies inspired a TV spinoff XO, Kitty, which was just renewed for a third season.
The movies are a wild ride, maybe not the best plotting and writing but making up for it with incredible action sequences. The stunt work and the use of one-take shots added to the thrills and Hemsworth made for a compelling hero.
A TV show set in this world is an interesting approach. It can tell a larger storyline and go more all out in the action scenes. Having an original character in the mix is also a big deal as audiences enjoy Rake yet might be interested in a new guy handling this dangerous world and the question if he gets out alive.
Sy is a fine choice for the lead, as he was praised for his role in Lupin, which was a big hit for Netflix. He can be charming, so not as tough as Rake, yet still skilled enough for the action sequences and the heart needed to get audiences to root for him. This should be a great spotlight for him.
The show’s still in the early stages yet a good push that looks to turn Extraction into a Netflix franchise to amp up the action in the future.
Extraction and Extraction 2 are streaming on Netflix.