Unfortunately, Pharrell Williams’ fans will not be flocking to theaters this spring to see the coming-of-age story inspired by his hometown, Virginia Beach. On Friday (Feb. 7), Golden, formerly known as Atlantis, was indefinitely scrapped at Universal Pictures. The project was slated to have a May 5 theatrical release, though that day will now never come to pass. The Michel Gondry-directed flick was in post-production when the decision came down.
According to Variety, the disappointing outcome comes at the cost of $20 million. Its star-studded cast included co-leads Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Halle Bailey, as well as Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brian Tyree Henry, Janelle Monáe, Missy Elliott, Quinta Brunson, Anderson .Paak, and Jaboukie Young-White. The story was set in 1977 and paid homage to the neighborhood the famed producer grew up in, including the Atlantis Apartments he once called home.
The 13-time Grammy Award-winning hitmaker described it as a “musical expedition” when he spoke with Empire magazine last fall. He called it a story “about self-discovery and pursuing your dreams, but it's so much more magical than that. It's a celebration of Black life, Black culture, and most importantly, Black joy.” Variety reports, “The project was shut down after unanimous agreement from producers and Gondry that the film did not live up to its developed conceit.”
In a joint statement about the shelved creative effort, Williams and Gondry admitted, “When all of us got into the editing room, we collectively decided there wasn’t a path forward to tell the version of this story that we originally envisioned.” The pair added, “We appreciate all the hard work of the talented cast and crew. While we’re disappointed we can’t deliver this film, we have incredible partners at Universal and will collaborate in a different capacity again soon.”
On social media, Williams’ supporters have expressed confusion over the decision. He is simultaneously a trending topic because their reactions are entangled with celebrations of his animated Lego biopic, Piece by Piece, which opened in theaters in October. A tweet read, “Piece by Piece was such a beautiful movie and told in a beautiful way! I watched it today for Black History Month.” Similarly, a second fan commented, “That Lego Pharrell movie was fire as hell wtf.”
Another person tweeted, “Like, I’m sorry, so we can get the Lego Pharrell biopic, but we can’t get the live-action one? Suddenly the movie industry doesn’t wanna put out a live-action version of something?” A fourth user typed, “I want to know exactly what was wrong with that Pharrell movie [because] I’m not understanding how a stellar cast like that could just go to waste.”
A fifth person suggested the sound architect take a guerrilla approach to deliver his vision. They wrote, “Pharrell, babes, I say leak it. Something has to shake. I genuinely wanted to watch that movie.” However, with the editing process incomplete, the team behind the movie is not seeking a workaround or a new buyer to help bring it to the masses.
But if there is one takeaway that The Neptunes frontman dished about his life in Piece by Piece, it is that setbacks are really opportunities to push the limits of creativity further. And that is something he has done for three decades across entertainment and fashion, so the best is still yet to come.