Netflix axes controversial nine-hour Prince documentary

The documentary by Oscar-winning ‘OJ: Made in America’ director Ezra Edelman may never be seen

A controversial nine-hour long Netflix documentary about Prince will not be released by the streaming service, and may never be broadcast.

The film was directed by Ezra Edelman who won the Academy Award for Best Documentary for his almost eight-hour long 2016 feature about OJ Simpson, OJ: Made in America.

The lengthy film about Prince was commissioned by Netflix, who arranged with the Prince Estate to grant Edelman unprecedented access to the groundbreaking musician’s legendary vault of unreleased material.

However, the Prince Estate were reportedly unhappy with the portrayal of Prince that emerged in Edelman’s film.

In a statement to The Independent, Netflix said: “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.

“As a result, the Netflix documentary will not be released.”

Prince performing during his Super Bowl halftime show in 2007 (Associated Press)

Earlier today, Prince’s official X/Twitter account tweeted: “The Vault Has Been Freed.”

In a separate statement to the Tribune, Londell McMillan, who was Prince’s lawyer and is now a manager of Prince Legacy LLC said: “The vault is free. It’s a big, big win for Prince’s legacy.

“We’re excited to have the right to put a plan together. which is exciting for the fans and his legacy. Thankfully we were able to reach an agreement with Netflix.”

McMillan said the new film will be “an in-depth piece that explore the complexities of the brilliant musical genius.”

At a Grammys event last Saturday, McMillan announced: “There will not be any salacious documentary. We have turned the page, to shine the proper light on Prince.”

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Last year, he tweeted about his displeasure over the direction the film had taken. “They hurt others like [Michael Jackson] but I will not permit ANYONE (ex’s, musicians, engineers, friends, family, enemies) hurt or falsely portray Prince (and we all know he had his ways) Everyone does… We look forward to sharing his balanced story,” wrote McMillan.

Edelman spent almost five years editing his film, which now looks unlikely to ever see the light of day.

The Independent has reached out to Netflix and the Prince Estate for comment.

Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, died in 2016 of an accidental overdose of fentanyl at the age of 57. In recent years the Estate has released previously unheard music from Prince’s vault posthumously, including the full-length album Welcome 2 America in 2021.