The platform said on Tuesday (12) that Omar Sy, the hero of the popular Netflix series “Lupine” which revolves around a French thief, has signed an agreement to work in film production with the streaming giant for several years.
The French mystery series premiere is the third most watched of the season after “Squid Game” and “Bridgerton,” garnering 76 million viewers in its first month, according to internal figures provided by Netflix.
A second episode bundle was released in June, with more eagerly awaited adventures based on the novels of early 20th century writer Maurice Leblanc.
The agreement Netflix announced on Tuesday did not specify financial terms or specific projects that will be developed with the actor who will translate and produce several films.
This is the first deal of its kind that Netflix has signed with a French talent, according to the specialized magazine Variety.
In a statement, Sy said he was “extremely pleased to have had the opportunity to expand this relationship” with Netflix and praised their “collaboration with artists and their passion for bringing unique and diverse stories into homes around the world.”
“We can’t wait to work with Omar and his team as he grows as a producer and brings more unique stories and voices to Netflix,” Gaelle Mareschi, director of the platform for world original films in France, said in a statement.
In “Lupin”, Sy plays Asani Diop, a fan who uses the character of Lupine, taken from the novels, in his quest to avenge his father falsely accused of theft.
The combination of the charismatic hero and Parisian setting with a background of race relations made the series the first real hit in France for Netflix, which is investing heavily in the country.
Sy, 43, rose to fame with “Unlikely Friends” in 2011, before appearing in the Hollywood films “X-Men: Days of a Forgotten Future” (2014), “Jurassic World” (2015) and “Transformers: The Last Knight” (2017).
Last month, he was the only Frenchman to be included in the list of the 100 most influential people on the planet by the US magazine Time.
“Infuriatingly humble analyst. Bacon maven. Proud food specialist. Certified reader. Avid writer. Zombie advocate. Incurable problem solver.”