Thanks to what might be considered too many terrifying real-life possibilities, this dystopian sci-fi series that’s been in the works for nearly 15 years has been officially shelved by FX, the network it was slated to appear on. The show was originally developed by David Hayter from projects like X-Men and Metal Gear Solid, alongside Hatfields & McCoys‘ producer Leslie Greif, and now Greif is speaking out about the reasons behind the show being put away for good.
Sitting down with ScreenRant to talk about his new show, The Gray House, Grief also dove into the politics behind why World War 3 was permanently shelved so long after it originally began development. The main reason? It “was too frightening” to develop now as the unfolding story “became too close to reality.” He also went on to say that FX, the network behind the production, said that “they felt it was too incendiary,” and that the ideas behind the script were “too frighteningly possible and plausible” for audiences to be able to enjoy.
World War 3 Would Have Been Timely—and wildly Successful
When asked what was at the heart of World War 3, Grief said that its main takeaway was “hope,” and that he and Hayter wanted to promote a message for the US “to come together as a country.” He went on to elaborate, saying, “At the end of our story, Ben’s character says, ‘We’re counting on you, Mr. Lincoln. We have got a lot of hope, and we can’t lose the hope.’ At the end of this miniseries, Willie Nelson sings a song called The Heart of America, which I hope becomes an anthem for this century and for this country, because we need to come together as one and have hope. It was too close, and all the subplots were almost too close. So let’s calm down. Let’s calm the waters and hug each other.”
It’s interesting that FX chose World War 3 as the project to shy away from, especially considering that they’ve tackled shows with blatant real-world subject matter before. Director Alex Garland’s show Devs was a deep dive into the problematic gray areas within Silicon Valley’s ever-expanding tech and AI sectors, while Y: The Last Man was absolutely riddled with parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even the series The Beauty, an adaptation of the graphic novel by the same name, is Ryan Murphy’s middling, self-proclaimed take on Ozempic culture—a very timely and relevant subject.
It’s unfortunate that World War 3 is likely never to come to fruition, especially for the reasons given by the network and all of the wasted potential the series surely would have had. What are your thoughts on the cancellation of the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to head over to the ComicBook forum to see what other fans are saying.