Highly Anticipated Netflix Series Shelved Before Production

By TeeJay Small | Published

By now, we’re all well acquainted with the fact that Hollywood is a fickle industry, which can result in a project undergoing numerous roadblocks, or even cancelations, before ever hitting the screen. According to a write-up in What’s On Netflix, the long-awaited Spike Jonze series on Netflix has officially been shelved, despite the massive buzz and near-universal excitement fans seemed to exhibit for it.

At this time, the show has not been entirely canceled, so there’s still hope that it will eventually enter active production, though the show is said to have been pushed onto the back burner for the foreseeable future.

From Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze

For those that don’t know, Spike Jonze is a legendary filmmaker in the world of both comedy and drama, who inked a deal with Netflix for an original sci-fi series over two years ago. Jonze is best recognized for his writing and producing work on the Jackass franchise, as well as his directing credits on films such as Being John Malkovich and Her.

He also appeared on screen in a bit performance for the film The Wolf of Wall Street. Jonze’s most recent feature production, Beastie Boys Story, was an Apple TV+ documentary that premiered in 2020, so it’s been quite some time since fans have had any new heady material from the auteur to sift through.

Record-Setting Netflix Budget

Despite the fact that Spike Jonze’s Netflix show seems to be in limbo, sources indicated back in 2022 that the filmmaker had already set a writing staff, a production budget, and an outline for the inaugural season, meaning the show must have been far along in the preproduction process when it was ultimately shelved.

While Netflix has not provided any specific reason for its decision to terminate ongoing production on the series, many fans have surmised that the choice was made due to the show’s budget, which was apparently shaping up to be one of the highest in the streamer’s history.

Joaquin Phoenix Rumored To Star

Joaquin Phoenix in Spike Jonze’s Her

One of the causes for the inflated budget may have been the search for A-list cast members. Joaquin Phoenix was reportedly eyed for a leading role as far back as 2023, though the casting never officially materialized. In addition to leading the writing staff, Spike Jonze was also on pace to direct one or more episodes of the still-untitled Netflix sci-fi series, so we can imagine that the mind-bending psychology would have been perfect for Phoenix’s impressive range.

Still, perhaps it’s all for the best that Joaquin Phoenix‘s casting was never fully locked in, as the actor has a tendency to leave projects abruptly, complicating the already arduous filmmaking process. Phoenix recently made headlines for doing exactly that to a planned LGBTQ romance film with Todd Haynes at the helm just five days before production was set to begin.

For now, there’s very little word on how far along Spike Jonze’s Netflix show got with casting, though we can surmise that no contracts have been inked with actors since the show has officially fallen off its production schedule.

Fans are certainly remaining hopeful that Spike Jonze’s Netflix series will still make it to air, though for now there’s no way of knowing if the project will ever see the light of day.

Source: What’s On Netflix

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