Sam Esmail’s series adaptation of METROPOLIS has been closed and is not moving forward

Sam Esmail (Mister Robot) developed an ambitious serial adaptation of Fritz Lang’s classic 1927 science fiction film Metropolis. He has been developing this project for years and it has become one of the most anticipated projects from Apple TV+. That project is now dead.

According to Deadline, “Metropolis she became one of the more high-profile victims of growing uncertainty in Hollywood driven by labor unrest against a backdrop of economic headwinds. It has been permanently shut down and the crew has been notified that the project will not be moving forward with production. They were supposed to start filming this summer!

A studio representative explained, “The drive costs and uncertainty surrounding the ongoing strike led to this difficult decision.” The scripts for the series weren’t completed before the writers’ strike began, so the project has been in limbo for the past seven weeks. This delayed budgeting and other key elements of pre-production.

It is explained: “Because of the times, UCP has faced increasing costs related to pushing the start of production, building and maintaining expansive soundstages, working a VFX job – while not knowing when filming could begin due to the writers’ strike (and the prospect of a potential SAG-AFTRA attack.) After evaluating the money spent so far and the risk going forward, UCP has decided not to proceed with the series and has notified its partners at Apple TV+.

This is a big pity! I was very excited about this show and there is no doubt that the creative team and crew are heartbroken at the decision. This has been a passionate project for Esmail, and he has been working on the eight-episode series for more than seven years. The manufacturing would have created nearly 4,000 people jobs and used one of the largest “virtual manufacturing” facilities in the world.

Like the original film, this adaptation of the series “will take place in a future society where wealthy industrialists rule the vast city from skyscrapers, while an underclass of underground workers is constantly working to operate the machines that provide its power. Risking everything they know, two star-crossed lovers from opposite sides of the divide must find a way to bring the whole system down.

The story is set in “a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city boss, and Maria, a saintly figure to working people, to bridge the vast chasm that separates classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the lord of the city.

Briana Middleton AND Lindy stand they were to star in the series. It is unknown if the project will be transferred to other studios in an attempt to try again when the strike is over.