Netflix Acquires Comic Book Powerhouse Millarworld

Netflix is making moves in the film world with the announcement of the company’s first ever acquisition: Millarworld.

The newly-acquired Millarworld might not be an immediately recognizable name, but the worlds and stories owner Mark Millar has created are. Wanted, Kick-Ass, and Kingsman: The Secret Service are all apart of Millarworld, though licensed and made by different studios such as Fox. Those three franchises listed have earned close to a billion dollars combined worldwide.

The acquisition makes sense for Netflix as the streaming service is devoting more money and resources to original content. There is still a wealth of franchises from Millarworld for Netflix to draw from, including American Jesus, the story of a 12-year old boy who finds out he has returned as Jesus Christ; Huck, a humble superhero who only performs good deeds but is then identified by the media; or Starlight, the story of a long-retired and lonely superhero who is met with one last call to action.

“I’m so in love with what Netflix is doing and excited by their plans,” Millar said. “Netflix is the future, and Millarworld couldn’t have a better home.”

The amount Netflix acquired Millarworld for is not known at this time. This is a step in the right direction as Netflix continues to stray away from distributing other studios content and focus on crafting their own. The actual purchase of a company is rare though, a first for the 19 year old service. Many thought that Netflix would just offer long-term deals with actors or directors, similar to the multi-movie contracts already signed by the likes of Adam Sandler and Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.

Earlier this year Netflix announced they raised over $1 billion solely for content spending, so the purchase of Millarworld falls nicely into the company’s strategy. Netflix has more than 94 million members that watch more than 125 million hours of programming every single day.