Netflix Amblin Deal Drives More Spielberg To Streaming

Amblin Partners, as led by Steven Spielberg, teamed up with Netflix this week. Netflix and Amblin started a partnership "that will cover multiple new feature films per year." This does not necessarily mean we'll see multiple films directed by Stephen Spielberg released on Netflix – but it could bring bigger-name pictures to the property as exclusives – depending entirely on the parameters of the partnership.

Per the Netflix release on the subject, Amblin Partners is described as developers and producers of films "using the Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures banners." It also includes "Amblin Television" and partners Reliance Entertainment, Alibaba Pictures, Entertainment One (eOne), and Universal Pictures..

Amblin Partners Chairman Steven Spielberg spoke on the partnership, making a few clarifications right out the gate. "This new avenue for our films," said Spielberg, "alongside the stories we continue to tell with our longtime family at Universal and our other partners, will be incredibly fulfilling for me personally..."

A bit more of an indicator of the Spielberg-centric nature of the content was given by Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer and Netflix Co-CEO. "We cannot wait to get to work with the Amblin team," said Sarandos, "and we are honored and thrilled to be part of this chapter of Steven's cinematic history."

Amblin is associated with productions like Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, West Side Story, Arachnophobia, Indiana Jones, Come Play, and The Trial of the Chicago 7. It's likely most television and movie properties previously released on streaming platforms outside of Netflix will continue to stream said shows and movies.

This deal makes it slightly more likely that Amblin-associated properties will launch on Netflix first, or Netflix exclusively, from this point forward. Keep your eye on Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Tiny Toons Looniversity, Halo (via the video game), Animaniacs (a Hulu exclusive), Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, Amazing Stories (Apple TV+), and the documentary series Why We Hate (with Discovery).