Pharrell Williams and Michael Gondry halt musical ‘Atlantis’ in editing phase

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WRIC) -- GRAMMY Award-Winning musician Pharrell Williams and filmmaker Michael Gondry scrapped their plans for the musical "Atlantis" in the post-production phase of the film.

According to Variety, Universal Pictures studio said it will not be releasing the project or selling it to buyers -- after the two filmmakers, Pharrell and Gondry halted plans for the film in the editing process.

"Atlantis" was described as a coming-of-age film that depicts Pharrell Williams' life growing up in Virginia Beach's Atlantis Apartments in the '70s.

The film was completed with a star-studded cast that included Missy Elliott, Halle Bailey, Janelle Monáe, Anderson .Paak, Quinta Brunson and more -- but will not be released in any capacity.

Variety shared that multiple sources confirmed that the film project was shut down due to a unanimous agreement from Gondry and producers that the film "did not live up to its developed conceit."

Pharrell told Variety that the decision was made collectively not to move forward with the story he originally envisioned after everyone got into the editing room and realized there wasn't a path to tell it as planned.

While the reasons for the film's halt remain unclear, it is considered quite uncommon to walk away from a studio-level film at such an advanced stage.