CHICAGO — This is more than just a movie deal. This is a cultural moment. Netflix has officially greenlit a $13.5 million film project centered around the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field — a landmark that transcends baseball, transcends sports, to touch what Americans call collective memory.
Title “Wrigley: Heart of Darkness,” the film is described as a melancholic yet proud love song, leading viewers through more than a century of longing, pain, and waiting — culminating in a historic night in 2016. The project is driven by Cubs leadership, with strong support from central figures of the current era, including Craig Counsell — an icon of new thinking and the team’s desire to expand its influence.
The Chicago Cubs weren’t built on victories alone. They were built on time. On long summers in the old wooden stands. On radio, on the wind of Lake Michigan, on promises of “next year will be different.”
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Netflix understands that.
“Wrigley: Heart of Darkness” isn’t about retelling a season. It’s about a relationship—between people and place, between belief and disappointment, between generation and generation. It’s the story of grandparents who never saw the Cubs win a championship, of children growing up with a curse, and of a city that never gave up on its team.
The film promises to take viewers back to that fateful night in 2016, when the Cubs finally broke their 108-year drought. But this isn’t just a typical victory film. Netflix isn’t looking for fireworks.
They’re looking for tears.
The streets of Chicago after Game 7. Families embracing in silence. Those who waited a lifetime—and those who couldn’t wait. Heart of Darkness doesn’t sugarcoat glory; it delves into the price of waiting, making victory sacred.
This timing is no coincidence. The Cubs are entering a phase of expanding their identity—not just building a roster, but building a story. Netflix’s arrival with a $13.5 million investment confirms that the Cubs have transcended MLB boundaries to become a global cultural asset.
Wrigley Field, with its brick walls, handcrafted scoreboards, and afternoon sun, is the central figure. Not the modern arena, not the flashy technology—but a place where time seems to stand still, where memories are preserved by emotion.
The film’s title is immediately controversial. Heart of Darkness isn’t about darkness in a negative sense. It’s about the deepest part of belief, where hope is no longer easily found, where you love a team even knowing it may never be reciprocated.
That’s the Cubs.
The film will go through the most painful periods: the collapses, the generations lost with regret, the unanswered questions. And it is from there that the 2016 moment becomes breathtakingly great.
Netflix is betting on emotion, not highlights.
Unlike typical sports films, this project isn’t built to replay hits or catches. Netflix is betting on the soul of the fans — something that can’t be measured by ratings or WAR.
This is the film for:
Those who have never been to Wrigley but still understand the Cubs
Those who aren’t baseball fans but understand the waiting
And Americans who see themselves in a story of belief that lasts longer than a lifetime
The Cubs, Wrigley, and America — a love that needs no explanation
There are teams that represent success. The Cubs represent perseverance. There are stadiums that represent modernity. Wrigley represents memory.
With “Wrigley: Heart of Darkness,” Netflix didn’t just buy a movie. They bought a piece of America’s soul—a place where failure doesn’t drive you away, but makes you love it even more.
And the final question…
When the film comes out, viewers won’t just ask: How did the Cubs win?
They’ll ask: Why do we love a team so much, even if we have to wait a lifetime?
Perhaps that’s the answer Wrigley Field has kept for over 100 years—and now, finally, it’s about to be told to the world.