PlayStation Productions has a lot going on at the moment. Shows like Twisted Metal and The Last of Us are moving into second seasons, and movies like Ghost of Tsushima and Uncharted 2 are a go (but still a ways off). Another huge IP adaptation was Netflix’s live-action Horizon Zero Dawn series, but it seems like it’s been put off… for now.
With post-apocalyptic video game adaptations like TLOU and Fallout raising the bar in recent times, the Horizon TV series seemed like a pretty safe bet, so what happened? Well, its current iteration hasn’t been canned due to the dreaded ‘creative differences’ between artists and studios. Instead, it’s all gone down the drain due to allegations of “retaliation” and “toxic work environment” during the development and production of the hit Netflix series The Umbrella Academy; its showrunner, Steve Blackman, had been chosen by the company to crack the adaptation of PlayStation’s hit IP, but Rolling Stone is saying his next two shows have been nuked (after first reporting on the accusations).
This is a huge blow to both Netflix and PlayStation Productions’ upcoming slate. The former is soon ending Stranger Things and The Witcher, two of its biggest shows ever, and looking for new tentpole series than can become as giant as those. Meanwhile, Sony’s video game adaptation division was getting ready to start shooting Horizon as well as God of War (set at Amazon’s Prime Video) sooner rather than later.
Unsurprisingly, Blackman is denying the accusations for now: “These allegations from a handful of disgruntled employees are completely false and outrageous, and in no way reflect the collaborative, respectful, and successful working environment Mr. Blackman has cultivated,” a spokesperson said in a statement made on July to The LA Times. Season 4 (the final one) of The Umbrella Academy releases on August 8, so it remains to be seen how Netflix will be handling this PR crisis over the next few weeks.
Because of how big the Horizon IP continues to be for Sony despite its cultural impact not going beyond ‘it’s a good-looking open-world game with sick robot designs’ after two behemoth-sized installments, we’re not expecting this project to stay dead for long, but expect a full reset whenever it resurfaces. As Guerrilla Games probably continues to work on a follow-up to Forbidden West and the PlayStation folks scramble to get new system-sellers made, a Lego take on the IP that nobody asked for (but looks cute enough) is launching later this year on PS5, PC, and even Nintendo Switch.
