For years, Netflix has been investing huge sums in new series. A new report reveals how a sci-fi project became a million-dollar grave for the streaming service
Ferraris, cryptocurrency and Keanu Reeves: these are just a few of the ingredients in the hair-raising story of Conquest. We’ll never get to see the sci-fi series, but the story of its non-creation reads more excitingly than most screenplays. It was recently revealed in a new New York Times report
When the 47 Ronin director pitches a sci-fi series to Netflix
The sci-fi project was the brainchild of Carl Rinsch, who made his directorial debut with the 2013 fantasy film 47 Ronin. The result was probably the biggest financial failure of leading actor Keanu Reeves. Flops, even if they are debuts, should of course not determine the future of filmmakers. Many canonized masterpieces crashed at the box office upon release. Nevertheless, it is surprising that the streaming service Netflix entrusted the relatively inexperienced director with millions for a new science fiction series. Because not a single episode of Conquest was produced
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But first things first. According to the New York Times, Rinsch set about his new project after 47 Ronin: the series, initially titled White Horse and later Conquest, was to be about a genius who breeds a human-like species. First it comes to the aid of humanity, then its “true nature” leads to conflict.
What Keanu Reeves has to do with the Netflix series
Rinsch wanted to pitch the project to several platforms, according to the report. Among other things, he received a cash injection from his 47 Ronin leading man Keanu Reeves. Rinsch filmed pitch videos and Netflix took action. That was in 2018, and Rinsch was given unlimited creative control and a sizable budget. When Netflix pulled the plug three years later, the streaming service had burned through over 55 million dollars, according to the Times. So where was the money?
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Shooting took place in South America, but according to those involved, under chaotic circumstances. Carl Rinsch increasingly displayed erratic behavior on set and even accused his wife, Gabriela Rosés Bentancor, of wanting to have him killed.
Rosés eventually filed for divorce and it is from this legal battle that some of the information in the New York Times report comes from. According to the report, the director invested part of the Netflix budget in the stock market, invested in cryptocurrency and spent millions on Rolls-Royce cars and similar luxury products.
Today, five years after Netflix gave the go-ahead for the science fiction series, the only people to benefit are the lawyers. Conquest, the series that was supposed to create a Stranger Things-style universe, spin-off series and all, is dead. Carl Rinsch’s reputation is probably ruined and Netflix is on a cost-cutting course
