In 2027, Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” celebrates its 100th film anniversary. But even today, the science fiction landmark has lost none of its fascination and is still regarded as one of the most important film contributions in German film history. After we reported in 2016 that the “Mr. Robot” creator Sam Esmail wanted to implement the classic as a miniseries, last year the green light was finally given: “Metropolis” should actually be a series for Apple TV+.
But nothing will come of that now, because how reported exclusively, was “metropolis“now officially pulled the plug. The reason for this is the writers’ strike in Hollywood and the accompanying cost explosion in pre-production – this was confirmed by a spokesperson for the studio Universal Content Productions (UCP):
“The increased costs and the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing strike have led to this difficult decision.”
“Metropolis” was already in pre-production
The major project has been under consideration for the past few weeks. Because drafts of the scripts for the lavish miniseries could not be completed before the start of the writers’ strike on May 2, 2023, basic elements of pre-production – including setting the budget – were delayed.
Actually, the start of shooting for “Metropolis” was scheduled for the summer. With Briana Middleton (“Sharper”) and Lindy Booth (“Wrong Turn”), some main characters have already been cast. So fans of great sci-fi stories are looking down the drain and can only hope that the series is tried again at a later date. Maybe in 2027, on the occasion of the film’s centenary?
This is “Metropolis”
Fritz Lang’s classic was one of the most expensive films of its time and is based on the sci-fi novel of the same name by Thea von Harbou. “Metropolis” talks about the primal human fear of falling victim to its own technical revolution – and would thus have a major influence on productions such as Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner”.
Set in a dystopian future, the story is told of a society in which the peaceful coexistence of man and machine threatens to become increasingly unbalanced. At the same time, the sci-fi milestone is also about the story of an unequal love between the patriarch’s son (Gustav Fröhlich) and a simple worker (Brigitte Helm) from the so-called Lower Town. But young happiness is suddenly disrupted: the new invention of the scientist Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) was supposed to revolutionize life in the megacity, but instead it heralded its downfall…