The news of Batgirl's cancelation towards the end of its post-production shook the entertainment industry back in August, but there have been many other film ideas through the years that never lived to see the silver screen. In fact, there have been countless unmade films that were never able to move beyond pre-production or even past the initial idea stages.
Whether it be ion projects from auteurs like Guillermo Del Toro or even visually ambitious adaptations of popular video games, sadly, not every film idea is fortunate enough to see the light of day. But that hasn't stopped film lovers from wanting to see them anyway. In fact, there's been many on Reddit who continue to hope that these abandoned projects will, one day, finally be made.
Gore Verbinski's Bioshock
With its engaging narrative and stunning designs, the first-person shooter game, Pirates Of The Caribbean films, had been approached by Universal to direct a planned adaption, but negotiations between him and the studio ultimately fell through, resulting in the film being shelved.
Reddit Archamasse named the unmade film as something they would still love to see, with a now-deleted agreeing in their response, saying, "Oh, s**t, that's a good pick." With his knack for telling grand stories on a such an epic scale, Bioshock seems like a property that would've been right up Verbinski's alley, but fans of the game might have to wait longer for any potential screen adaptations.
Guillermo Del Toro's At The Mountains Of Madness
Guillermo Del Toro's long-awaited adaptation of Pinocchio is finally seeing a release in November, but over the years, he's had several other ideas for unmade films that have continuously struggled to secure studio financing. One of these unrealized projects, according to Indiewire, was an adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft novella, At The Mountains Of Madness, would've starred Tom Cruise as its lead character.
When it comes to both the best and worst Lovecraft adaptations, Del Toro appeared to have a vision that could've potentially made for something truly special in the former category. Even Redditors like RudigherJones agree that it "would've been amazing" to see Del Toro translate the horrifying cosmic madness of Lovecraft onto the big screen.
Disney's Mort
Disney veterans John Musker and Ron Clements gave audiences such animated classics as Aladdin, but one project they sadly failed to produce was Mort, based on Terry Pratchett's novel of the same name in his Discworld series. According to CNET, Disney was unfortunately unable to acquire the rights to Pratchett's works and the film ceased any further development.
Redditor justsomedude322 seems to think that Disney dropped the ball by not moving forward with the film, claiming that "an animated musical about Death, made by Disney could have been incredible." Despite its popularity, the Discworld series has yet to see a screen adaptation get made, but Mort's story of a young boy becoming an apprentice to Death sounds like something Disney could've handled quite well.
Neill Blomkamp's Halo
The District 9's Neill Blomkamp set to direct. Blomkamp's visual style and aesthetic of filmmaking seem perfectly suited for the gritty sci-fi and militaristic nature of Halo, but both Universal and 20th Century Fox dropped the project due to financial reasons, according to Den Of Geek.
Reddit the show has been faithful to the games, its mixed viewer response has s like SorryJustHereToParty wishing that film had been made instead, saying, "It baffles me to think that was on the table and instead, they made that trash fire of a show 15 years too late."
23 Jump Street: MIB
Both Men In Black franchise. The studio eventually abandoned the film, opting to make the spin-off/sequel, MIB: International, instead.
When the news of this crossover was first announced, many saw it as an unexpected and incredibly risky undertaking. As bizarre as this crossover may sound, Redditor Believeland-OH seems optimistic about what might've been, saying, "I think the thought of them in Men In Black had a ton of potential."
Kubrick's Napoleon
Legendary director Stanley Kubrick ed away in 1999 before he could carry his filmmaking into the 21st century, but one idea he had been keen on making for years was a biopic on Napoleon Bonaparte, according to Looper. Kubrick's script was already completed prior to his ing, leaving many to wonder when and if another director could take up the mantle.
Although Redditor TinButtFlute named the film as their one pick, they also acknowledged that Ridley Scott has a Napoleon film of his own coming out soon, claiming that it "could be a worthy consolation." The film remains in limbo, but with Kubrick's script still floating around, anything is still possible.
Hellboy 3
Guillermo Del Toro's two Hellboy films were critically adored and have gone on to become cult hits with a devoted fan base. Despite their modest box-office success, the third and final film of the planned trilogy has still yet to be picked up by Revolution Studios, becoming yet another one of several unproduced ideas from Del Toro that still need to be made.
Out of all of Del Toro's abandoned or unmade projects, Hellboy 3 continues to have the highest demand from audiences. Several Reddit s continue to hold out hope though, with Notoriously_So describing the unmade film as being "at the top of the list" for them.
Satoshi Kon's Dreaming Machine
While the average moviegoer may not have heard of Satoshi Kon, any anime fan or cinephile would be quick to point him out as one of the greatest animation directors who ever lived. Responsible for such influential classics as Perfect Blue and Paprika, Kon tragically ed away from pancreatic cancer in 2010 before completing his film Dreaming Machine. According to Little White Lies, nearly half of its animation remains unfinished.
A Reddit post from a now-deleted called Kon's untimely ing "a huge tragedy," while also finding it sad "that nobody picked up the torch to finish it when he died." They also expressed sadness over the unlikelihood that even the animation that had already been completed might never be seen, saying, "I'm sure whatever it was, even if incomplete, was beautiful."
Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash
After Freddy Vs. Jason, a sequel had been planned that would've crossed over with the Evil Dead franchise. According to Slashfilm, Bruce Campbell was even approached about reprising his role of Ash Williams, but creative differences between him and the studio got in the way of the project ever moving forward.
As a "sucker for both crossovers and slasher movies," Reddit Ash Vs. Evil Dead.
Tarantino's Vega Brothers
Throughout his career, Quentin Tarantino has subtly connected his films with Easter eggs and other references, but one of the most blatant connections is how Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction and Vic Vega (aka Mr. Blonde) from Reservoir Dogs happen to be brothers. According to CinemaBlend, Tarantino had planned for John Travolta and Michael Madsen to reprise their roles in a prequel, but eventually opted to move on to other projects instead.
The film might be dead, but the Reddit threads are still mourning its abandonment, with Redditor sledgehammer_77 claiming that it "would’ve been a great crossover between two classic stories." tastyburger320, however, seems to think it could still happen with younger actors, saying "depending on who he could theoretically cast, I'd be down with it."
