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 role Mr. Lin will occupy is likely to be far different than the one Mr. Stuber did. During Mr. Stuber’s tenure, budgets were huge and oversight was scant. Now, Netflix intends to pare down the number of films it makes every year significantly and place a greater emphasis on quality control.
The company remains firmly committed to its streaming-first strategy, however, and does not seem inclined to indulge filmmakers who want their films to be in theaters before becoming available to Netflix subscribers.
