Streamer pulls the plug on The Batman's Matt Reeves' long-awaited Bonfire of the Vanities adaptation
The Batman director Matt Reeves’ next streaming venture has stalled in development amid behind-the-scenes woes — and the snag goes well beyond a simple delay.
If you thought The Bonfire of the Vanities circus was done with its notorious 1990 film flop, think again. There was a new TV version in the works—one with some genuinely heavy hitters behind it. But the much-hyped Apple TV project has just hit yet another roadblock, and now it’s on the market all over again.
Apple Backs Away
This latest go-round was being led by David E. Kelley (yes, Ally McBeal and Big Little Lies, that David E. Kelley) and Matt Reeves (the bloke behind The Batman and HBO’s The Penguin), and let’s be honest, that’s quite a duo for any adaptation. The plan, initially, was to turn Tom Wolfe’s sharp, sprawling New York satire into a serialised drama for Apple TV. They actually sold it to the streamer back in April.
Bonfire of the Vanities was picked up by Apple TV in April and is now looking for a new home.
But as is tradition with Bonfire adaptations, things have not gone smoothly. According to insider chatter, there was a creative clash behind the curtain. In plain English, no one could agree on what this series was supposed to be, and by all accounts, Kelley wasn’t best pleased with how it was being shepherded through development at Apple. With all the behind-the-scenes wrangling, the project has now been pulled out of the Apple stable and is being shopped around to other platforms.
Anyone hoping to see this take on Bonfire soon is in for a longer wait: until someone else bites, this one’s back to square one. More developments are promised, but right now, it’s just the world’s most glamorous hot potato, waiting for another studio to pick it up.