We were admittedly surprised to find FOX diving headfirst into ancient Egypt with a series order for fantasy drama 'Hieroglyph,' but whatever the reasoning behind such a strong vote of confidence, the network apparently got cold feet. FOX has halted production on Travis Beacham's 'Hieroglyph,' burying the drama alive before ever making it to air.

Set in ancient Egypt, where fantasy and reality intertwine, FOX’s 13-episode ‘Hieroglyph’ was to follow Ambrose, a notorious thief plucked from prison to serve the Pharaoh (Reece Ritchie), navigating palace intrigue, seductive concubines, criminal underbellies and divine sorcerers. 'Indiana Jones' alum John Rhys-Davies was to play Vocifer, Ambrose’s mentor (see him up in the corner there?), amid a cast that included Ritchie, Condola Rashad, Caroline Ford, Kelsey Chow and Antony Bunsee.

Originally scheduled for a midseason debut, and now canceled over FOX's apparent dissatisfaction with creative direction, the 13-episode action-adventure drama was executive produced by Peter Chernin, Katherine Pope (‘New Girl‘) and Beacham (‘Pacific Rim‘), who also wrote the pilot script. Miguel Sapochnik (‘Fringe‘) directed the premiere episode, while no additional installments had yet been filmed.

Certainly an unexpected development, considering the investment FOX earlier appeared to have in the series, but hey, something had to be sacrificed to the TV gods to get 'Community' a sixth season. What do you think? Was FOX's attempt to cash in on 'Game of Thrones'-inspired fantasy-drama doomed from the start? Watch the trailer for FOX's canceled 'Hieroglyph' below, and give us your thoughts on what might have been!

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