According to a report on the alleged “toxic, bullying, manipulative, and retaliatory behavior” of The Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman, The Horizon Zero Dawn TV series is seemingly not moving forward at Netflix.
As reported by Rolling Stone, twelve staffers and a HR complaint have detailed the hostle workplace that was said to have been fostered by Blackman, although the showrunner has said these claims are “entirely untrue” and “completely absurd.”
At the end of the report, it is stated that Blackman was offered an overall development deal reportedly worth $50 million at Netflix in 2020, and the Horizon Zero Dawn series was part of that package alongside an original outer-space thriller series called Orbital.
Now, however, Rolling Stone has “learned that the two projects are no longer moving forward.” Per a representative for Blackman, the showrunner “has a long, ongoing, and close working relationship with Netflix” and “continues to work on new projects.” Furthermore, Blackman signed a “new multi-year deal earlier this year.”
The Horizon Netflix series was revealed back in 2022 with Blackman as the showrunner, and it was going to star Aloy.
“Horizon Zero Dawn is an exceptionally well-crafted game with wonderful characters not often seen in the rank-and-file of the gaming world,” Blackman said at the time. “Guerrilla Games has created an incredibly lush and vivid world of man and machine who find themselves on a collision course to oblivion.
“Their salvation comes in the form of a young female warrior named Aloy, who has no idea she’s the key to saving the world,” added Blackman. “Suffice it to say, yes, Aloy will be a main character in our story. My writing partner on this, Michelle Lovretta, and I are thrilled to be able to expand this remarkable IP into a series for all types of viewers.”
Sony said back in January 2024 that writing had begun on the series, but we haven’t really learned anything else since.
For more, check out our preview of LEGO Horizon Adventures and who will join Aloy as a figure in PlayStation’s upcoming The Shapes Collection.
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Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.
