Summary
- Fear Street 4 will prove that Netflix can create high-quality movie franchises, addressing a long-standing complaint about the streaming service's struggle in this area.
- With its solid start and positive reception, the Fear Street trilogy has the potential to be Netflix's biggest and most acclaimed movie series, showcasing the platform's ability to make great movie franchises.
- After the conclusion of Stranger Things, Netflix may focus more on successful movie franchises like Fear Street to attract the show's sizable target audience and potentially shift their content approach towards more movie franchises.
The news that Netflix’s Fear Street 4, proves one old complaint about the streaming service wrong. In summer 2021, Netflix released a trio of movies based on author RL Stine’s Fear Street books. These R-rated horror movies borrowed their inspiration from '90s meta-slashers, grittier '70s genre fare, and historical horror movies. A hit with both audiences and critics, the Fear Street trilogy was a rare horror series whose reception managed to get stronger with each new installment. As such, it was no surprise when Netflix announced that a fourth Fear Street was in the works.
The news that Fear Street 4 is happening was welcomed by viewers and reviewers alike, as the original trilogy successfully balanced scares, gore, and character drama to create a satisfying story across three outings. However, Fear Street 4 will be more than a comeback for the series. The new outing will also disprove a major complaint about Netflix itself that has been repeated for the decade since the streamer began producing original movies. If this RL Stine adaptation can continue the critical success of the 2021 trilogy, then Fear Street 4 will show that the platform can sustain high-quality movie franchises and fix one of its most struggling areas.
Fear Street 4 Will Prove Netflix Can Make Great Movie Franchises (Not Just TV)
Netflix has created some great TV-based franchises, but the service has generally struggled to produce any great long-term movie franchises. The long wait for Fear Street 4 proves that Netflix still struggles with this issue, as does the fact that the first three movies in the series were released as part of a one-off three-week event. While the first three movies have now proven to be successful, the Fear Street trilogy’s unusually cramped release schedule suggests that Netflix didn’t have the confidence to release the trilogy traditionally. Thus, Fear Street 4, especially as a standalone sequel, can prove Netflix's movie franchise potential.
Netflix has a reputation for great TV shows but mediocre film franchises, and Fear Street can continue to fix that now that the series has such a solid start under its belt.
With its hotly anticipated fourth installment on the way, the Fear Street franchise is set up to be Netflix's biggest and most acclaimed movie series. Netflix has a reputation for great TV shows but mediocre film franchises, and Fear Street can continue to fix that now that the series has such a solid start under its belt. 2023’s Goosebumps reboot proved that Stine’s writing alone was not what made the Fear Street movies a success, showing that director Leigh Janiak’s slick filmmaking was a major part of the original trilogy’s positive reception. This, combined with a great cast, allowed Fear Street to show that Netflix has the potential to make great movie franchises.
Fear Street's Movie Success Could Mean A Massive Netflix Shift After Stranger Things' Ending
It is possible that Netflix will put more effort into successful movie franchises like Fear Street after Stranger Things ends, in the hopes of gaining a share of that show’s sizable target audience. Stranger Things will conclude with its fifth season, but the series has a lot in common with Fear Street between its mixture of character drama and horror elements, its period setting, and its teen heroes. The Fear Street series can also avoid some major Stranger Things storytelling mistakes thanks to the self-contained nature of the franchise’s movies.
While Wednesday is also positioned as Stranger Things' TV replacement for their generally shared target audience, Netflix now has the opportunity to shift further into appeasing these demographics with movie franchises. Netflix is finally capitalizing on Fear Street's movie trilogy success after more than two years, and can snowball this new effort with additional Stranger Things-reminiscent film franchises after the hit show's conclusion. Thus, the next Fear Street installment could be a testament to Netflix’s movie franchise potential and begin a change in its future content approach.
