Netflix is moving forward with Bright 2, bringing aboard Evan Spiliotopoulos to write the script, taking over for original Bright writer Max Landis. Original Bright director David Ayer is returning to the helm, with Will Smith and Joel Edgerton expected to reprise their roles as Daryl Ward and Nick Jakoby, respectively. Netflix has yet to announce a production start date, or a release date for this sequel, but it will mark the first sequel for any of the streaming service's original movies.

Sources say that Max Landis, who wrote the original Bright, will not be involved with Bright 2. The writer reportedly had creative differences with returning director David Ayer, which lead to the writer parting ways on the sequel. Max Landis was paid a whopping sum for his original Bright script, reportedly between $3 million and $4 million, which was part of a package that Netflix paid $90 million for, beating out several other parties in an intense bidding war.

The original Bright was set in a futuristic version of Los Angeles where humans reside alongside orcs, faeries and other creatures. The story centers on Will Smith's Daryl Ward, an LAPD cop returning to duty after a near-death injury, only to find he's been partnered up with an orc, Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton), much to his chagrin. While Jakoby is eager to make this partnership work, Ward is less than willing, but they both must work together when they come across an ancient weapon that humans and orcs alike are desperately searching for. No story details have been given for the sequel just yet.

Back in early January, just days after Bright was released on Netflix, the streaming service released a brief teaser for the sequel, although no specifics were released regarding this follow-up. While Netflix still doesn't release concrete viewing data, Bright was said to be the most-watched Netflix film in its first week in release, and one of the most-watched Netflix originals ever, including films, TV shows, documentaries and more. The movie was also the top film in every country Netflix is available in, and was watched internationally more times than it was domestically. There is no word yet if other Bright stars will return, such as Noomi Rapace as Leilah, Edgar Ramirez as Kandomere, Lucy Fry as Tikka, Happy Anderson as Montehugh or Ike Barinholtz as Pollard.

Evan Spiliotopoulos started his writing career with a number of animated kids movies like the theatrical release Pooh's Heffalump Movie and a number of straight-to-video animated sequels like The Lion King 1 ½ and The Jungle Book 2. He moved over to live-action theatrical fare with the 2014 action-thriller Hercules, starring Dwayne Johnson, and The Huntsman: Winter's War, starring Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron. He most recently wrote Beauty and the Beast alongside Stephen Chbosky, which became one of the biggest box office hits of 2017. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news on Bright 2 landing writer Evan Spiliotopoulos earlier today.