Horizon Zero Dawn Netflix Series to Be Made by the Umbrella Academy Creator Steve Blackman

Horizon Zero Dawn TV adaptation is in the works, as we already know, and now we know who’s making it: The Umbrella Academy creator Steve Blackman. In a Netflix Tudum interview, the filmmaker confirmed that he will be adapting the critically-acclaimed PlayStation game into a series. Michelle Lovretta (Killjoys) partners with him on the script, and will expectedly focus on Aloy as the main character. The Horizon Zero Dawn series joins the ever-growing list of PlayStation titles set for a screen adaptation, including The Last of Us and God of War.

Set in a post-apocalyptic United States overrun by hostile machines, Horizon Zero Dawn follows young hunter Aloy, who sets out to uncover her past. Developed by Guerrilla Games, Zero Dawn and its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, chronicle her journey from getting treated as an outcast in her tribe, to growing into a hero that saves mankind from a catastrophic threat to the future. Players could unleash devastating attacks onto enemies, as they mount machines and face off against rival tribes for control, all while exploring the open world teeming with resources and wildlife.

The game received a positive reception from fans and critics alike but suffered commercially, due to its launch being aligned a week before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s release. Horizon Zero Dawn was initially released on the PS4 before getting ported to PC in August 2020. Blackman intends to recreate the same story for mainstream audiences. ”My writing partner on this, Michelle Lovretta, and I are thrilled to be able to expand this remarkable IP into a series for all types of viewers,” he said in a prepared statement to Netflix.

News regarding the Horizon Zero Dawn Netflix series comes after Blackman announced the fourth and final season for The Umbrella Academy. Season 4 will serve as a “fitting end” to the Hargreeves siblings’ journey, as they enter a new timeline where their powers no longer work. Blackman will executive produce the final season, before jumping into his newly-extended creative partnership with Netflix. The deal outlines him spearheading the aforementioned Horizon Zero Dawn show and an original sci-fi piece called Orbital (not to be confused with the Gadgets 360 podcast of the same name).

“From a character- and world-building perspective, there’s a clear throughline: I gravitate to characters who are grounded and relatable but exist on the fringe. Outliers who struggle to find their place in a world of conformity and structure,” he said in relation to his interest in exploring Aloy’s story. “Horizon Zero Dawn is an exceptionally well-crafted game with wonderful characters not often seen in the rank-and-file of the gaming world. Guerrilla Games has created an incredibly lush and vivid world of man and machine who find themselves on a collision course to oblivion.”

As for Orbital, Blackman is collaborating with David and Keith Lynch — not to be confused with filmmaker David Lynch — to create a Space Station-set series, with a fair share of dark humour, desperate characters, and “wild action sequences.” Further information will be revealed in the future, but for now, Blackman has confirmed that Orbital will not feature any aliens.

Earlier this week, reports filtered in about a live-action movie based on Days Gone and Gravity Rush. Both films are in the early development stages.

Over on HBO, we got the first teaser for The Last of Us TV series, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, along with the first look at Nick Offerman’s Bill.

Currently, there is no set release window for the Horizon Zero Dawn Netflix series.