Last year was filled with unexpected examples of studio gun-shyness, with many major projects being scrapped despite major talent and others being forced to drastically re-evaluate their budgets. Lately it has been WB that’s been in the news for its ruthless stalling of major projects, as Arthur & Lancelot was outright canceled while Akira was put on hold several times before being put on what looks like a more permanent hiatus. Now it’s WB-partner Legendary’s turn: appropriately enough it’s Alex Proyas’ Paradise Lost that has hit the chopping block.
One of the many religiously-themed blockbusters that have coalesced in tinsel town lately, Paradise Lost was set to be a grand CGI spectacle of heavenly warfare and big-name stars. Bradley Cooper was headlining with his Lucifer role, while the effects were touted as the biggest selling point. Alas, it is apparently the heavy cost of visual effects that has ultimately banished the project to indefinite hiatus as the budget simply can’t be constrained enough for Legendary. The story was largely the same for Akira at WB, though that project also had much less star-wattage.
One has to wonder if this is going to be a frequent story in a post-Batman Legendary and post-Potter WB world. It’s much easier to greenlight a +$120m epic if you have a surefire hit that will magically print you money each year, but with the wizard gone and Nolan wrapping up the Bat this summer, there are much fewer of those on the the horizon for either studio.
This project could always resurface — you don’t get something as far as this project was in the pipeline without a few important people fighting for it — but it may be a few years and few technology leaps from now.
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Source | Deadline (via A/V Club)