AppleTV+’s Metropolis, billed as one of the largest projects ever to shoot in Victoria, will no longer be going ahead.
Universal Content Productions (UCP), which was producing with Esmail Corp, confirmed today that the series, based on Fritz Lang’s 1927 cult sci-fi film, would not be moving forward, citing rising costs and uncertainty relating to the US Writers’ Strike as the reasons that had led to the “difficult” decision.
Announced in April last year, Metropolis was part of a pipeline of projects to receive $83.8 million in Location Incentive funding from the Federal Government, while also benefitting from $41.6 million from the Victorian Screen Incentive.
The eight-part series from showrunner Sam Esmail, depicting a dystopian future city marked by a sharp divide between the working class and the wealthy elite, was expected to contribute $188 million to the economy, creating jobs for 700 cast and crew and a further 2,500 employees. Another 700 local businesses and service providers were also expected to benefit.
Metropolis was a key reason for Nantstudios building what is believed to be the largest permanent LED volume in the world at Docklands Studios Melbourne, as well as a second LED volume for more contained scenes. The Victorian government pledged $12.5 million towards the build. The Federal Government also said it would provide an additional $5 million to support students with training in the technology as part of a national upskilling program. Matchbox Pictures was due to provide production services to Metropolis.
According to Deadline, the series had been partially cast with Briana Middleton set as the lead and Lindy Booth tapped for a major role. The publication reports that the project had been in limbo since the beginning of the writers’ strike, given that production drafts of the scripts had not been completed by the start of the strike.
Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance entertainment crew and sport organiser for Victoria, Paul Stanley, said there were more than 100 people working on the project during pre-production, some of whom were laid off last week.
“I know people that were promised a job in November and said no to other work while they were waiting for it to start,” he said.
“They had just started on the production and now they are looking at losing their job, so it’s tough.
“This isn’t something that has popped up overnight; it’s been in the making for a long time and it’s a very large-scale production with a lot of investment from VicScreen and of course Matchbox as well.
“They’re using the whole of the Docklands Studio, so no other productions have been able to come in and start while they have been holding that studio space, which has been since the end of last year. “
A VicScreen representative told IF that while the withdrawal of any production is disappointing, Victoria’s partnership with NBCU remained in place with a “significant estimated expenditure to be delivered over the coming years”.
“Victoria has a healthy pipeline of film and television projects slated for production,” the representative said.
“This includes nine local productions which are providing invaluable work opportunities for Victorian screen practitioners and businesses.”
According to the Federal Government, no payments under the Location Incentive had been made to the production, as they are only dispensed once principal photography commences.