One year after giving Grendel, a series based on the masked vigilante from Matt Wagner‘s Dark Horse comic book series, an eight-episode series order, Netflix has opted against moving forward with it.
The show centers on Hunter Rose, an assassin, fencer and writer who battles organized crime in New York to revenge on the death of a lost love—until he ultimately takes control of the crime scene himself.
Most of the episodes have already been shot, and producers have the option to shop the project elsewhere.
Abubakr Ali was going to be the first Arab Muslim male actor to lead a major comic book adaptation. Jaime Ray Newman, Julian Black Antelope, Madeline Zima, Kevin Corrigan, Emma Ho, Erik Palladino, Brittany Allen and Andy Mientus also star.
Mientus took to Instagram to share sadness over the cancelation.
“We all know this business can be a heartbreaker, but I thought after more than a decade navigating it, I’d seen all the ways it can break your heart,” he posted.
“Hundreds of talented, tireless, wonderful people shot not just a pilot, not just a few episodes, but an entire season that now might go unseen,” Mientus continued. “I’m used to shows closing or getting cancelled, but only after they at least get to meet the world, their fate decided (mostly) by their audience. What’s happened here is a new one for me, and a shock, and I won’t pretend it doesn’t really sting.”
“I’m going to stay optimistic that we find a new home, and if we don’t, I’ll get through it, of course, and will once again be tougher for it,” he added.