A new report suggests that a Netflix series based on the hit Horizon Zero Dawn sci-fi videogames is no longer moving forward.
In 2022, Sony announced that it was to make a TV adaptation of its hit videogame franchise Horizon Zero Dawn – a group venture with Netflix, and one of several planned films and shows based on PlayStation properties.
According to a new report published by Rolling Stone, however, the series is “no longer moving forward” at the streaming giant. The situation appears to stem from Steve Blackman, the showrunner who delivered one of Netflix’s biggest hit series, The Umbrella Academy, in 2019. According to Rolling Stone’s reporting, Blackman has been accused of “long history of toxic, bullying, manipulative, and retaliatory behavior” in a HR complaint seen by the outlet. Blackman has refuted the allegations via a spokesperson.
The success of comic book series The Umbrella Academy, which ranks just behind Stranger Things and The Witcher as Netflix’s most-watch TV shows, led Blackman to head up a Horizon Zero Dawn series as well as a separate sci-fi project called Orbital. The Horizon show (not to be confused with Kevin Costner’s series of big-screen westerns) is only mentioned briefly in Rolling Stone’s report, so it’s unclear how much work on the series was completed.
Sony has also seen huge success with The Last Of Us, an adaptation of its post-apocalyptic horror game series; made in collaboration with HBO and created by showrunner Craig Mazin, its second series is currently filming. Other PlayStation properties set for adaptation include God Of War, Days Gone and Gravity Rush – a snippet from the latter emerged on the internet in January.
Between The Super Mario Bros Movie and Sonic The Hedgehog in cinemas and The Last Of Us and Fallout on television, videogame adaptations are big business these days. If this latest report is accurate, though, it’s unlikely we’ll see Horizon Zero Dawn on the small screen anytime soon.
More on this as we get it.
