Mike Flanagan Explains His Jump From Netflix To Amazon

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, to say the very least, for genre guru Mike Flanagan. After all, in a matter of mere days, the man who masterminded modern horror staples like "Oculus," "The Haunting of Hill House," "Midnight Mass," and more announced the cancellation of his current Netflix series "The Midnight Club," the end of his four-year development deal with the streaming giant, and a fresh deal with one of Netflix's biggest competitors, Amazon Studios. If that weren't enough, Flanagan and his longtime producing partner Trevor Macy also announced they're in-the-works adaptation of Stephen King's iconic book series "The Dark Tower."

That last tidbit is a very big deal for Flanagan as he's long touted the genre-smashing "The Dark Tower" as a dream project (per IGN). Flanagan has, of course, already adapted two of the horror master's tales in "Gerald's Game" and "Doctor Sleep." And if you've seen those films, you know he's batting 1000 when it comes to King adaptations. In any case, Flanagan has been so vocal about putting his stamp on "The Dark Tower" saga, one has to wonder if the possibility of Amazon backing his adaptation didn't play a part in drawing him away from Netflix.

For the record, Flanagan claims Amazon is not yet a backer of that adaptation. And in discussing their big streaming move with Deadline, Flanagan admitted several other factors affected the decision.

In discussing the end of his Netflix deal, Mike Flanagan points out the cancellation of "The Midnight Club" was not a factor. He also notes he's got another series coming to Netflix in 2023's "The Fall of the House of Usher." Still, Flanagan specifically tells Deadline that the myriad changes at Netflix in recent years ultimately led him to seek a change himself. 

"I think it's safe to say that a lot has changed in the industry and Netflix in the four years since we started our deal," the filmmaker said, adding, "We knew we were coming up to the end of it, we thought it would be very prudent to stick our heads out, look around and see what else may be there for us." He continues by noting Amazon just felt like the best fit moving forward, "We were feeling like there might be a better fit for us, and we're very much feeling like Amazon is that." Flanagan further states he felt his priorities and Netflix's didn't really align after the 2020 departure of Cindy Holland (via Deadline).

In what was perhaps an unintentionally telling comment later in the interview, Flanagan also admitted he's maybe not a fan of Netflix's binge-watch model, noting of Amazon's "The Boys," "I love that show. I also love the way they've made it appointment television ... I love that they're leaning back toward that weekly release model on so much of their stuff." And so it is that the next iteration of the "Flanaverse" will officially unfold in the hallowed streaming halls of Amazon Prime Video.