Obamas teaming up with Avengers: Endgame directors on Netflix movie

Netflix continues to go hard into original movies, especially after the success of Oscar-nominated films like Marriage Story and The Irishman. Once viewed as a disrupter, Netflix is now a permanent fixture of the entertainment landscape, and it has the power to jumpstart some eyebrow-raising projects.

One of the next (potential) things on Netflix’s roster is something I’m personally looking really forward to, if it actually comes together and happens. Former president and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama may team with Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame (the highest-grossing film of all time, incidentally),to produce a movie: Exit West, based on a 2017 book by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid.

According to Collider, Rogue One’s Riz Ahmed would star as the movie’s central character, Saeed.  The film would be produced by the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions along with the Russo Brothers’ AGBO, and directed by White Boy Rick’s Yann Demange.

I don’t know about all of you, but this collaboration sounds epic. And for me, personally, the fact that the film is to be based on a book by a Pakistani author means a lot. I think it’s pretty incredible to see the country my parents are from paid attention to by such talented individuals.

Exit West is a story about two people named Nadia and Saeed who live in an unidentified country riddled with civil war. Back in 2017, the book was on New York Times “10 Best Books” list.

The Obamas signed a deal with Netflix in 2018. Their first project, American Factory, won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, and they have several more in the pipeline. Teaming up with tremendously successful filmmakers like the Russos can only help their films get more exposure.

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h/t CBR