Netflix Prince Documentary DOA
It has been a heated topic among Prince fans regarding the 9 hour Netflix documentary directed by Oscar-winner Ezra Edelman. However, that Netflix documentary is now officially dead. Not rumor or conjecture or maybe, but dead.
A scarce handful of hardcore Prince friends, fellow musicians and family were able to witness the full 9-hour documentary and many walked away with a sense of intrigue, but a larger sense of conflict. Attorney Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer Jr., who represent Prince Legacy LLC fought hard and diligently to keep the documentary from ever seeing the light of day claiming that the film is damaging to Prince‘s legacy and that its content portrayed him in a very negative light.
While many musicians and past band members participated in the interviews, some like Michael Bland, who spoke openly on Funkatopia Live with Mr. Christopher had indicated that he had refused to contribute simply because the line of questioning was indicative of being a “smear piece.”
So Prince Legacy LLC went about the daunting task of holding Netflix to the contract which indicated that it was to be a 6-hour documentary instead of 9, in order to keep the documentary from seeing the light of day. Many Prince fans fell on either side of the controversy with some claiming that they would still want to see it and others approving of Prince Legacy LLC‘s fight to protect Prince’s legacy.
However, on Feb. 6, 2025, the official Prince Twitter and Facebook account posted a video with the caption, “The Vault has been freed.” with no additional context leading to a lot of positive speculation.
The rumor mills started buzzing and then many questions got answered shortly afterward, when the Prince account then posted a follow up tweet for clarification indicating that, “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.”
Netflix verified the post, by releasing a statement on Thursday to the Minnesota Star Tribune stating, “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.”
In the original contract, Netflix received exclusive access to Prince‘s material including music, various recordings, videos, films, photos, and more which caused a huge problem for the Estate who were facing immense pressure from Prince fans to release more new material, but whose hands were tied as a result.
Londell McMillan, co-manager of Prince Legacy LLC, told the Star Tribune on Thursday that “the vault is free. It’s a big, big win for Prince’s legacy.” He also stated, “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.”
No one has yet commented on what the agreement consists of, but here’s what we know. Netflix paid millions to have rights to have the film created and obviously for the exclusivity of it to be aired on Netflix. It’s highly improbable that that exclusivity is gone. How the new documentary will be paid for and what monetary negotiations were made with Netflix for the millions already spent is unknown.
The other unknowns would be who would direct it. The immediate thought for a great candidate would be Ahmir Questlove Thompson. He has already proven to be an award winning documentarian with Summer of Soul, Ladies and Gentlemen, 50 Years of SNL Music, and the upcoming Sly Lives! Plus, he has seen the original 9-hour documentary and would be able to keep the enlightening content from the original included in the new film as long as it’s presented in a fair and balanced way. He is one of the few people that bring that hindsight from the now defunct film.
As far as when it will be completed, in the 2024 year-end issue of Billboard magazine they promoted upcoming Prince events and closed with a bullet indicating that a Prince documentary would be released 2026/2027. That is an indicator that the Netflix discussions relating to this recent announcement has been in negotiations for months now.
As for what will be in the documentary, it’s evident that it will be positive, uplifting, and honoring Prince’s legacy. Londell McMillan indicated that it would be, “an in-depth piece that explores the complexities of the brilliant musical genius.“, and according to Star Tribune, Londell also had indicated that it could very well possibly become multiple documentaries, but he declined to speculate any further.
As for what it means for Prince fans, this release of the shackles that Netflix had on the vault has now been broken which gives way to the vault doors being wide open. The result of which is that Primary Wave and the Prince Estate can now begin structuring a timeline for new Prince releases including unreleased music and videos that the purple public has been screaming for.
So put on your paisley bibs because there’s about to be a purple feast for Prince fans. This new information should be a solid indicator that Prince fans are about to have a very good year.
A purple feist? After 2022-2024, I’ll believe it when I C it. Hopefully it will happen.
Well, 2022-2024 their hands were tied. Now they’re not. I think Prince fans will be surprised.
I have no feelings either way about it. Look, it would have come and gone and then it would be on to the next thing. Prince the artist is no longer with us. His music, however, is here forever. Things have changed so much in this world, including tastes in music. Prince music will never be as big as it once was because old heads like myself are trying to hold on to memories and the young folks just don’t care. I say, let’s just enjoy what we like and love about the music and let the rest, including the man, be.
Absolutely not to Questlove participating in any doc on Prince. Not ever.
Maybe the 9 hour documentary will leak some day.
I’m glad they have pulled the plug. Any documentary should be balanced and how can one refute statements and accusations from beyond? The fams know Prince was human- a flawed man who encountered obstacles at nearly every turn. Do I need to know about the time he got so angry he… or was unfaithful? Nah- just gimme the music so I can relive and share some of the best times in my life (FA83 and Glam Slam please). Peace and positivity 💜
Not sure how anyone can confidently state the documentary is unbalanced if they’ve not seen it.
Just listen to the music. What we have and what may be released. That’s his true legacy and all that I really need. Without him actually doing it himself, any documentary is going to be inaccurate and biased one way or the other.
Everyone is treating this always as an either/or question. There are different types of docos and their both valid. It make sense that an Estate endorsed doco would be a presentation of his incredible career and public journey. That’s a film worth making and showing.
A film presenting an attempt to investigate the person behind the artist is also fascinating and valid. It should be made and shown some day, but it also makes sense that that’s not what the Estate would back.