Netflix has been actively seeking to expand its roster of in-house film and television franchises, with the acquisition of Mark Millar’s Millarworld designed to give the company a steady stream of comic book content to mine for inspiration. Unfortunately, the very first attempt backfired spectacularly when Jupiter’s Legacy was canceled after only eight episodes.
While the generational superhero saga did draw in decent enough viewing figures before being cast to the scrapheap little over a month after premiering, reports emerged in the aftermath that things were nothing short of chaotic behind the scenes. Tales of Jupiter’s Legacy going over budget and over schedule ran rampant, with The Incredible Hulk director Louis Letterier even brought in as a consultant to try and steer it over the finish line.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, star Matt Lanter reflected on the demise of the blockbuster episodic escapade, admitting that he went in with expectations of spending the next decade of his life as part of the show.
“You know, Jupiter’s Legacy, it’s a shame. It’s a big bummer. It’s not something we expected. Honestly, I thought I was going to be doing that for probably the next 10 years of my life the way they shoot the seasons and put them together. I was thinking we were gonna see four-five seasons of Jupiter’s Legacy. I’m glad we got one season of it out there, it’s a high quality, pretty amazing superhero show. As far as the story goes, it’s a shame. At the end of Season 1 there, you can tell we were just about to explode the whole thing and really dive into the story.
People have shared the same sentiment with me. Matter of fact, I just did a Comic-Con in Kansas City this past weekend, and a lot of people were talking to me about Jupiter’s Legacy and how they loved it, and I did to. Gosh, there’s so much story there in the comics, it’s right there just waiting to be told. I don’t know, I’m just bummed out about that one. I really loved that character, he was such an interesting character, and I was excited to get to play him for a while. It just didn’t happen, I guess that’s the business part of show business. I don’t know everything that happened behind the scenes. Again, it’s a shame, but you move on.”
Undoubtedly one of the biggest failures in the history of Netflix, the reputation of Jupiter’s Legacy is nothing short of an embarrassment, with a reported $200 million being invested into the production, and absolutely nothing to show for it at the end of the day.