Netflix’s Horizon Zero Dawn series has reportedly been canned
The 'horizon' just got a little further away, with reports that Netflix's proposed Horizon Zero Dawn series has been cancelled. News of a live-action series was first announced in May 2022, and following a period of relative quiet, it's apparently no longer in production.
Following the success of the first Horizon game in 2017, Guerrilla Games then moved ahead with 2022's Forbidden West, 2023's VR Call of the Mountain, a comic book series, and even a board game. The next step was supposed to be a live-action series, but now, we're not sure.
Netflix reportedly axes Horizon Zero Dawn series
As reported by Rolling Stone's Cheyenne Roundtree, the live-action Horizon Zero Dawn series is no longer moving forward at the streaming giant. Roundtree claims that a series of allegations have been made against The Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman.
On June 30, the site ran an article claiming to have obtained a January 2023 HR complaint against Blackman. Here, he was accused of having a "long history of toxic, bullying, manipulative, and retaliatory behavior." Although Blackman has called these claims "completely absurd," it could already be having a knock-on effect.
Days later, Roundtree reports that two of Blackman's projects have been axed. This includes the live-action Horizon Zero Dawn series and another series called Orbital. It's unclear how far Netflix got with the Horizon Zero Dawn series, but with the games being steeped in lore, it was hoped to be a major video game adaptation.
What happens next is unclear, however, many expect Sony to look for a new home to house the IP. It's recently hit big with HBO's adaptation of its first-party The Last of Us, while there's similar hype for Amazon's proposed God of War TV series.
We wouldn't count on the idea of a Horizon TV series going 'extinct', but for the time being, it sounds like its Netflix iteration could be as dead as a robotic dinosaur.
