Shane here.
Rumors of the Deadlands live action series' demise, I'm happy to say, are greatly exaggerated.
It is true that Microsoft had a very large layoff today and closed what was called XBox Entertainment Studios. A number of projects are still in development with the exact same people, however, such as Steven Spielberg's (Exec Produced) Halo series AND...
...Deadlands. Others will be announced one way or another in the days and weeks to come, I believe.
The shows may take on a different form than was originally envisioned, or they may be partnered with other networks as things are sorted out. And of course the project may still terminate at any time just like any entertainment project--that is always the case regardless of the parent company's actions or focus changes.
Pinnacle and I offer our support to all the XBox staff who were let go and the creators whose projects were cancelled. We know what a punch to the gut that can be--we've been through it many times and will go through it many more, we're sure. But we also know you will recover and move onward and upward with experience gained and lessons learned. These are unfortunate setbacks. They are not endings.
Now on to the positive news for Deadlands' fans.
Meetings were held between the writer / director and the XBox exec and creative teams yesterday (July 16). Both sides report that it was one of the best meetings they've ever had, with ideas flying and enthusiasm high. The group is now working on the series' outline and pilot revisions, and when we're able and if things continue to move ahead, we'll announce the writer / director and at least a little bit about the actual content of the series itself.
Thanks very much to all those who sent IMs, emails, texts, and phone calls to us to offer their support.