Netflix Lost $55m On a Scrapped Sci-Fi Series (& Just Won A Major Legal Victory Against the Director)

There have been some unique cases of unfinished projects in Hollywood, but few, if any, are as odd and expensive as a recent case involving Netflix. That’s because at one point Netflix thought it had a major franchise on its hands with a promising science fiction series, but that series never became a reality, with nothing but a spent $55 million to show for it. That resulted in a trial involving fraud and money laundering charges, and today there’s been a major legal victory against the director responsible.

Today, a New York jury has found 47 Ronin director Carl Rinsch guilty of wire fraud and more after Rinsch managed to scam Netflix out of over 11 million (via Deadline). Rinsch faces up to 90 years in jail, and the sentencing hearing for Rinsch will take place on April 17, 2026. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton issued a statement after the verdict was released, saying, “Carl Erik Rinsch took $11 million meant for a TV show and gambled it on speculative stock options and crypto transactions. Today’s conviction shows that when someone steals from investors, we will follow the money and hold them accountable.”

Carl Rinsch Pocketed Money For A Movie That Was Never Made

This whole case began when Netflix obtained the rights to White Horse, and that was later renamed as Conquest. They spent over $61 million to purchase the property, and then had another $44 million assigned to the series’ budget. Rinsch held Final Cut power over the series and would later ask for another $11 million from Netflix to take care of pre- and post-production needs to finish the series.

That was in 2020, and as of 2021, Rinsch had nothing to present to Netflix on the progress other than a few teaser clips. Netflix would then cancel development on the series and write off over $55 million in costs, but then, crazily enough, it was Rinsch who said that Netflix owed him $14 million. After an arbitration ruling, Netflix was actually owed $12 million, but Rinsch hasn’t paid Netflix anything as of yet.

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That led to this case, and now Rinsch faces jail time. During the trial, Rinsch testified on his own behalf and had also not entered a guilty plea, as he insisted the millions he received from Netflix were to pay off money he had already invested in the project. Rinsch also told the court that he was using some of the footage he had already shot as leverage in hopes of getting a second season.

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