Spielberg Says He Shelved 'Robopocalypse' to Avoid a Studio-Ending Budget

Overview

• In a new Empire Magazine interview, Steven Spielberg called the abandoned Robopocalypse “gargantuan” and said making it “would have ended a whole studio.”
• He said he halted the film in January 2013 because he could not guarantee an audience for what he believed would be the most expensive movie he had ever directed.
• Reports put the budget at more than $200 million, and Spielberg said he would not load that cost onto DreamWorks, so he sought outside financing.
• The movie had reached advanced prep, with Drew Goddard writing, a cast led by Chris Hemsworth with Anne Hathaway and Ben Whishaw, Disney set to distribute, a Canada shoot planned, and a release that slipped from July 2013 to April 2014.
• Spielberg is now focused on Disclosure Day, a new sci‑fi film starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, and Colin Firth that is set for June 12, 2026.