Prince estate forbids release of nine-hour documentary by Oscar-winning director Ezra Edelman

Prince's estate has cancelled the release of the already produced nine-hour Netflix documentary about the late star's life, directed by Ezra Edelman. The decision was reached through a 'mutual agreement,' and a new, estate-approved film is to be made and released.

In a statement released to The Minnesota Star Tribune, Netflix said: "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.”

Following the announcement of the film's cancellation, the estate posted "The Vault Has Been Freed" on Prince's X/Twitter account. A video was included in the post, displaying pictures of the late singer over which the following messages appear: “Despite everything, no one can dictate who you are to other people,” and: “The truth is, you’re either here to enlighten or discourage.”

The Vault Has Been Freed. #FREE pic.twitter.com/uvAbzEBbTc

— Prince (@prince) February 6, 2025

Edelman was said to be "devastated" by news of the cancellation. The film had taken him almost five years to make. The Yale-graduate had previously won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for his 2016 feature, O. J.: Made in America, an almost eight hours long documentary about the life of O. J. Simpson.

The director was granted access to The Vault—the nickname for Prince's archives—through an undisclosed multi-million dollar deal with the estate, negotiated with then interim executor Comerica Bank, as Variety reported in July 2018. According to a The New York Times article from September 2024, he was told the estate would not exert any editorial control.

The estate's administrators, however, changed in 2022, and sought to forbid Edelman's access to The Vault. Media company Puck reported that it was the fact the director delivered nine hours of footage—when the deal established six—that allowed the estate to withhold the music rights.

Sources from the estate told Variety they "felt the documentary was not sufficiently positive," and "felt strongly that certain events had been 'sensationalised' and not properly fact-checked."

Rachel Weiss, who wrote the previously mentioned Times article, is one of the few people to have seen the film. In her article, she said there is a scene in which ex-girlfriend Jill Jones alleges Prince and she "tussled, and he began to punch her in the face over and over."

Weiss also said the film "offers one answer to a question that has agonised the culture at large for the last decade. How should we think about artists whose moral failings are exposed?" She adds that "Edelman manages to present a deeply flawed person while still granting him his greatness — and his dignity."

Questlove, drummer and co-founder of the Grammy Award-winning The Roots, was also invited to the film's screening. “It was a heavy pill to swallow when someone that you put on a pedestal is normal,” he told Weiss after watching the film. “Everything’s here: He’s a genius, he’s majestical, he’s sexual, he’s flawed, he’s trash, he’s divine, he’s all those things. And, man. Wow," he added.

Details about the new Netflix documentary about the Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee are yet to be released.