Production on The Mortal Instruments: City Of Ashes has shut down. Constantin Film put the kabosh on the sequel after the firm movie debuted with a yawn inspiring $37 million worldwide. The movie cost $60 million to produce, and that cost doesn’t including prints and advertising costs.
The team at Constantin Film announced the movies shutdown but did not say if the movie would eventually resume filming.
The movie’s sequel was supposed to start shooting next week but is shut down indefinitely.
City of Ashes is based on the bestselling fantasy novel by Cassandra Clare. The movie would have followed up the recently released The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones .
Constantin Films released the following statement:
”Constantin Film’ has a long tradition of adapting books to the big screen. Pushing back the start of production of ‘City of Ashes’ was a decision we did not take lightly. But after speaking with all of our partners on the creative and distribution side, it was clear that it will be beneficial to have more time to reposition the film in the current market place,” said executive producer Martin Moszkowicz of Constantin. “‘The Mortal Instruments’ series has an incredibly loyal and ardent fan base and is a bestselling book series. While taking Cassandra Clare’s vision to the screen, we want to make sure to draw on the full potential of the franchise.”
Harald Zwart was set to direct the sequel just as he did the first movie.
Also signed on to return are stars Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Kevin Zegers. Sigourney Weaver had also been expected to join the ensemble.
Movie adaptations of books have struggled of late, and The Mortal Instruments: City Of Ashes may be a product of those continued failures.