Netflix will no longer release a nine-hour documentary series about Prince after reaching a deal with his estate, according to multiple reports. Instead, a separate documentary is now in development that will include exclusive content from the late star’s archive.
“The Prince Estate and Netflix have come to a mutual agreement that will allow the estate to develop and produce a new documentary featuring exclusive content from Prince’s archive,” Netflix and the Prince estate said in a joint statement shared with multiple outlets. “As a result, the Netflix documentary will not be released.”
The news was first reported by Puck.
The news was celebrated in social media posts on X and Instagram by the Prince estate, which wrote that the Prince “vault has been freed,” along with the Prince quote, “Despite everything, no one can dictate who you are to other people.” The posts are accompanied by a video clip set to the strains of Prince’s 1982 song “Free.”
Netflix did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.
Thursday’s news follows a lengthy New York Times story published in September that revealed that the new Prince estate executors were attempting to block the release of the docuseries directed by Ezra Edelman (O.J.: Made in America), which reportedly put forth a complex, not always flattering portrait of the artist. Edelman had taken over the project from the project’s original director, Ava DuVernay (Selma).
Prince’s estate is currently controlled half by Primary Wave, which purchased its stake from three Prince heirs in 2021, and half by Prince Legacy, a company controlled by estate managers L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer Jr. and three remaining relatives. McMillan and Spicer recently scored a legal victory after an attempt by the heirs involved in Prince Legacy to oust them as estate managers was struck down by a judge.
