Netflix's executive overhaul has claimed its film chief. Reuters reports the streamer has parted ways with Dan Lin, who led Netflix Film for roughly two and a half years, as part of a sweeping leadership shake-up that includes cutting around 1,000 jobs — about 6% of the workforce.
According to Variety, Lin's exit follows a brutal stretch for Netflix leadership: chief content officer Bela Bajaria departed on October 15, with former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice named as her replacement effective October 26. Rice will oversee the film division on an interim basis until a permanent film chief is appointed. Lin's deputies Doug Belgrad and independent film head Sheroum Kim are also out.
Lin, the Rideback founder behind The Lego Movie, It and Sherlock Holmes, took over Netflix Film in April 2024 from Scott Stuber with a mandate to impose budget discipline and broaden the slate. Per Reuters, his tenure included genuine hits: KPop Demon Hunters became a phenomenon and won two Academy Awards in March 2026, while The Rip with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon performed strongly. But pressure has mounted as viewing per subscriber declined and shares tumbled roughly 40% over the past year.
Industry newsletter The InSneider's Jeff Sneider reports tensions over Greta Gerwig's Narnia may have contributed, claiming Lin's extensive post-production notes met resistance. Netflix declined to comment on that claim. As Variety notes, the shake-up comes as Netflix also withdrew from the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war — a contest ultimately won by Paramount Skydance — sharpening scrutiny on every dollar the streamer spends on film.
What comes next will define Netflix's film identity for years. Rice, who previously ran Fox Searchlight and oversaw some of the most decorated films of the 2010s, inherits a division at a crossroads: the company wants theatrical-scale hits on streaming budgets, filmmakers want real releases, and subscribers are watching fewer hours per month. Whoever Rice taps as permanent film chief will have to thread that needle — deciding whether Lin's discipline-first approach survives him, or whether Netflix pivots back toward the filmmaker-friendly largesse of the Stuber era.