Details regarding the budget for Jupiter's Legacy reveal the cancelled Netflix comic book adaptation reportedly cost the streamer $200 million. Based on Mark Millar and Frank Quitely's Image comics of the same name, the story centers on the world's first superheroes and the acquisition of their powers on an uncharted island nearly a century ago. After years of adventures, the team must help guide their super-powered children as they attempt to live up to the legacy of their parents.
Development on the series first began in 2018 when Netflix gave a direct-to-series order for an eight-episode first season and signing former Daredevil showrunner Steven S. DeKnight to develop and run the project. However, halfway through production, DeKnight left over creative differences and was replaced by Sang Kyu Kim. Finally released this past month, the series debuted to generally negative reviews from critics and reportedly lackluster viewership numbers, resulting in Netflix cancelling Jupiter's Legacy, which makes sense with what a new report has revealed about the drama.
On the heels of the series' cancellation, The Hollywood Reporter writer Borys Kit took to Twitter to offer insight on Netflix pulling the plug on the drama. Noting that no sources close to the production have officially used the word "cancelled," Kit revealed that between reshoots and various other production costs, Netflix shelled out a reported $200 million for the series. With only one season produced, Kit called it "a sizable loss" for the streaming platform.
In a time in which the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still reigning supreme in the comic book world and finding great success at the box office, many studios are still attempting to keep up by throwing whatever money they have into these genre projects. The problem that arises from this approach is that less attention is put towards ensuring a quality effort in favor of assuring they get in on the trend while they can. Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe is still a prime example of the flaws for this business model, with the early films nearly collapsing the whole franchise due to the studio's interest in catching up to Marvel rather than telling its own stories.
Despite the early cancellation of the series, those who did enjoy Jupiter's Legacy can at least look forward to Millar's ongoing collaborations with Netflix under his overall deal, including live-action and anime adaptations of Super Crooks. Plus, with his confidence the story of Jupiter's will continue sometime in the future and labelling the live-action Crooks as a shared-universe series, the door is still open for an attempt at bringing back the cast of the former series for the new project. For now, fans will have to wait and see how it all shakes out and revisit the first season until more word comes regarding its future.
Source: Borys Kit