Why Sofia Carson Is Becoming a Netflix Go-to Star With ‘My Oxford Year’

Sofia Carson has steadily dominated the streaming world through her many appearances in Netflix original movies, smoothly transitioning from Disney darling to serious adult star with the help of her frequent collaborations with the platform. Carson first made a name for herself in Hollywood in 2015 when she starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie The Descendants, in which she portrayed Evie, the daughter of the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; the franchise followed the teenage children of Disney’s most legendary villains.

The Descendants‘ debut attracted a whopping 6.6 million viewers, and its massive popularity led to multiple sequels, short films, and TV specials, helping make Carson a household name among young fans. The actress went on to star in movies like Adventures in Babysitting and A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits before shifting her focus to more adult roles, using her Netflix projects to reach a more mature audience. Let’s take a look back at Carson’s successful relationship with Netflix.

Carson Transitions From Disney Darling to Netflix Leading Lady

Netflix

Shedding a wholesome Disney image and transitioning into a more mature performer is no easy feat for many stars who got their start on the family-friendly channel. However, it seems as though Sofia Carson knew the winning formula when she effectively rebranded herself as a serious actress. In 2020, Carson kick-started her creative relationship with Netflix when she starred in the dramedy Feel the Beat, in which she stars as a young dancer with big Broadway dreams who, after failing to find success in NYC, returns home to teach a group of misfits how to dance.

Two short years later, Carson appeared opposite Nicholas Galitzine in the romantic drama Purple Hearts, an adaptation of the Tess Wakefield novel of the same name that chronicles the blossoming relationship between an aspiring singer-songwriter and a troubled Marine who agree to get married solely for military benefits. Naturally, sparks fly between the two, and they fall in love, yet their romance is ultimately tested when tragedy strikes. Purple Hearts quickly claimed the number one spot on the daily film charts, and within just a week, it amassed 48.23 million hours watched; the Netflix hit would become the third most-watched movie of 2022 on the platform.

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The actress also executive-produced and performed the lead single from the soundtrack “Come Back Home” for Purple Hearts, which won Best Musical Moment at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. Netflix must have realized they had a good thing going with Carson, who had quickly become the streaming giant’s go-to leading lady, and in 2024, she would share the screen with Taron Egerton in the action thriller Carry-On. The film follows an LAX TSA officer who is blackmailed into allowing a dangerous package to board a Christmas Eve flight with 250 passengers; Carson appeared as the officer’s pregnant girlfriend, who is caught in the crossfire.

Carson Emerges as a Go-to Netflix Movie Star

She’s Returning to Netflix With ‘My Oxford Year’

Sofia Carson stars in The Life List — Netflix

10 days after its release on December 13, 2024, Carry-On had 97 million views and was projected to become one of the top 10 most-watched movies on Netflix. By January 2025, Carry-On had taken the title of the fifth-most-watched Netflix English-language film of all time. Not only was it a streaming hit with audiences, but the film also garnered widespread praise from critics and nabbed an 88% Rotten Tomatoes score, with the Chicago Sun-Times calling it, “A sharp, smallish thriller with some big and satisfying payoffs.”

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Starring in two extremely popular movies proved to Netflix and fans that Carson had an undeniable appeal that served both the platform and the actress well. She returned to her romantic roots earlier this year when she helped adapt Lori Nelson Spielman’s novel The Life List. The poignant romantic dramedy centers on Carson’s Alex Rose as she sets out on a noble quest to complete her childhood bucket list and rediscover her dreams following the death of her beloved mother (Connie Britton). The thought-provoking film inspired many audiences to reevaluate their own lives and pursue their goals, and once again shot to the top of Netflix’s 10 Most-Watched Films.

After so many movie successes with Netflix, it’s a no-brainer that the juggernaut streamer would continue enlisting the services of Carson for future projects, and the actress is once again slated to star in the romantic comedy My Oxford Year. Inspired by the Julia Whelan novel, the movie will follow American student Anna De La Vega as she travels across the pond to attend Oxford University and fulfill her longtime dreams, where she meets and falls for the charming local Jamie Davenport (Corey Mylchreest).

Scheduled to premiere on August 1, 2025, My Oxford Year will likely be another knockout project for Carson and Netflix, and it’s becoming abundantly clear that the actress is following in the footsteps of fellow stars like Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Centineo and becoming a major draw for the platform. In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2025, Carson was asked about being regarded as “the first true streaming movie star” and how her mere presence in a Netflix film helps elevate it, to which she responded by saying, “I don’t really think about it like that” before explaining:

“The greatest actors in the world are doing films on streamers as well as theatrically. So I just think the world has shifted in a really quick but powerful way. And I feel really lucky that my films are resonating. To hear you say that people watch a movie because I’m in it is, I don’t know, perhaps even beyond my wildest dreams.”