Joss Whedon Leaves HBO’s New Series ‘The Nevers’ Before First Season Premieres
Fans ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer,Angel, andFireflyhave been excited for creatorJoss Whedonto return to the small screen with HBO’s new seriesThe Nevers. An original sci-fi project following people in Victorian-era London who develop superpowers, the series is slated to premiere in the summer of 2021. But while we wait to see the first episode of the show, Whedon has already decided to take a step back from the series. Read the full statement from the director below.
If this is your first time hearing aboutThe Nevers, here’s the official synopsis:
In the last years of Victoria’s reign, London is beset by the “Touched”: people — mostly women — who suddenly manifest abnormal abilities, some charming, some very disturbing. Among them are Amalia True (Laura Donnelly), a mysterious, quick-fisted widow, and Penance Adair (Ann Skelly), a brilliant young inventor. They are the champions of this new underclass, making a home for the Touched, while fighting the forces of… well, pretty much all the forces — to make room for those whom history as we know it has no place.
This would have been the first original series that Joss Whedon created since the short-livedDollhouse, though he did serve as executive producer onAgents of SHIELDwithout actively being involved in the series, mostly because of his work onThe Avengers. So why did he leave?
CinemaBlendwas sent this official statement by Joss Whedon regarding his exit fromThe Nevers:
HBO made a much shorter statement confirming Joss Whedon’s departure, reassuring it won’t stop the show:
“We have parted ways with Joss Whedon. We remain excited about the future ofThe Neversand look forward to its premiere in the summer of 2021.”
Considering this is an original show where Whedon created the world himself, it seems surprising that he would step away so suddenly. This year has been hard on everyone, but surely by the time a second season would be underway, the global pandemic wouldn’t be hurting physical production nearly as much. But there may be another reason Whedon is leaving the show.
Perhaps Whedon has endured a more strenuous situation in 2020 due to the controversy that has been stirred up by actor Ray Fisher about the filmmaker’salleged inappropriate and disconcerting behaviorwhile directing reshoots forJustice League. Fisher certainly seems to think so, since he posted this on Twitter:
Like Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO falls under the WarnerMedia banner, so there’s a chance whatever these investigations have learned about Joss Whedon’s behavior on the set ofJustice Leaguehas resulted in this parting of the ways. At this time, it’s unclear how far along in production the series was, but Nick Frostfinished his work on the seriesback in September, so maybe Whedon was able to complete the entire first season before leaving.
Laura DonnellyandAnn Skellyare leading the series and a supporting cast that includesOlivia Williams,James Norton,Tom Riley,Ben ChaplinandNick Frost. In fact, Frost justrecently praised the show, saying:
We’re bound to hear Neversas production gets closer. But will it still be able to make that summer 2021 release date? That seems like a difficult prospect unless it’s much later in the summer, but we’ll see what happens.
