Horizon Zero Dawn Show Scrapped, Claims Report

A live-action Horizon Zero Dawn prequel series was in-development and set to arrive on Netflix, following Sony's success with acclaimed TV adaptation The Last of Us. The series was originally tied to showrunner Steve Blackman (The Umbrella Academy), but last week Rolling Stone reported on claims of Blackman's toxic behaviour. 

Rolling Stone's original report discussed Blackman being accused of "Toxic, Bullying, Manipulative, and Retaliatory Behavior" by sources and a HR complaint, claims which Blackman denied. 

Since the original report, Rolling Stone has since received a new scoop claiming that two in-development projects tied to Blackman, a Horizon Zero Dawn series and an original series called Orbital, are "no longer moving forward."

It's unclear just how far along development had reached before the series was reportedly canned, and whether or not this means Sony won't be pursuing the adaptation via other showrunners or platforms. As of January 2024, it was repored that writing had begun for the live-action series.

Horizon Zero Dawn, developed by Guerrilla Games, released as a PlayStation exclusive bakc in 2017 and has since received a direct sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, and a VR spin-off, Horizon Call of the Mountain.