It had been in the works for over seven years.
The WGA Hollywood writers strike has been going on for almost two months now and with it has come some big delays in production across TV and cinema.
However, the latest casualty of the ongoing strike seems to have put the final nail in the coffin of a massive project. Unfortunately news has come out that the TV adaptation of Metropolis has been cancelled.
Based on Fritz Lang’s influential 1927 sci-fi film, Metropolis was seen as one of the most ambitious projects for the last few years. Helmed by Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail, the eight-episode series was seen as a passion project for him. He was acting as writer, director and executive producer and had been working on it for more than seven years.
The series, which had been picked up by Apple TV+, has been cancelled, according to Deadline, due to “push costs and uncertainty related to the ongoing strike”. Due to start production in Victoria, Australia, the show’s future had been up in the air since the strikes began because of the huge costs involved and delayed script drafts.
With a potential actors strike also on the way, there’s simply too much uncertainty in the industry at the moment.
UCP, the production company behind the series, informed Apple TV+ that it would not be progressing after evaluating the risks going forward against the money already spent on the project.
The 1927 film which the series was based on is a German expressionist sci-fi. It centres on a futuristic urban dystopia where the rich live lavish lifestyles in colossal skyscrapers while the poor operate the city in underground dwellings.
The silent film is regarded as one of the most influential movies ever made and one of the first big-budget, special effect heavy flicks.
The news comes as another massive blow for Esmail, who’s Battlestar Galactica revival series is also in limbo for years following various issues with pre-production.
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