Scanline VFX, a Munich-based visual effects business, has been acquired by Netflix for an undisclosed sum. Subject to regulatory clearances and closing conditions, the business anticipates the acquisition to completion in the first quarter of 2022. Scanline’s credits include “Stranger Things” and “Cowboy Bebop,” two Netflix originals. Many Marvel and DC films have used the studio’s special effects.
Scanline has offices in Vancouver, Montreal, Los Angeles, London, Munich, Stuttgart, and Seoul, and was founded in 1989. “Stranger Things 4,” “Blood Red Sky,” “Slumberland,” “The Gray Man,” “The Adam Project,” and “Don’t Look Up” are among Scanline’s Netflix credits.
In addition to Netflix, the studio has worked on “Game of Thrones,” “Black Widow,” “Black Panther,” “Captain Marvel,” “Iron Man 3,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” “Joker,” and other projects.
Scanline is currently working on “The Batman,” “The Flash,” “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” “Black Adam,” and “Moonfall,” among other projects. Scanline will continue to function as a separate company and cooperate with its current clients, according to Netflix.
Scanline is recognized for its intricate, lifelike effects and skill in virtual production, according to Netflix’s vice president of studio operations, Amy Reinhard. Netflix aims to invest in Scanline’s pipeline, infrastructure, and personnel, as well as “continue to support the work that Scanline’s Eyeline Studios is undertaking in virtual production to push the frontiers of what is clearly feasible,” according to a blog post by Reinhard.
“We’ll continue to rely on many other studios across the world for our VFX requirements so we can ensure that our creators have access to the world’s most inventive tech and provide the most captivating and cutting-edge storytelling to our subscribers,” Reinhard said. Netflix’s acquisition of Scanline comes as part of the company’s effort to produce content in-house. Netflix purchased Albuquerque Studios in 2018 and said last year that it would invest $1 billion in production spending to expand the studio and add 300 acres, making it one of the largest studios in the world.
The projected extension, which would cost $150 million, will include ten additional stages, post-production services, mills, backlots, and training facilities, wardrobe rooms, a commissary, and other amenities. The streaming behemoth’s newest acquisition comes after it paid an unknown sum in September for its first games firm, Night School Studio. Sean Krankel, a former senior game designer at Disney Interactive, and Adam Hines, a lead writer at Telltale Games, formed the independent game company in 2014, which recognized for narrative-driven games like “Oxenfree.”
