Which brings us to this list of films. All have long titillated Hollywood with the possibility of a great movie product, and all have gotten lost in Development Hell, that special, torturous purgatory for movies that can’t quite get made despite enormous ion or demand. Say a Hail Mary, get out some holy water and say a prayer for these movies, all of which could be great, but for the moment, remain 15 Movies Stuck In Development Hell!

15. Austin Powers 4

The Austin Powers series earned more than half a billion dollars worldwide in its heyday, an impressive figure for only three movies, the most recent of which came out more than ten years ago. In addition to the major money haul, its main characters, Austin, Dr. Evil, Mini-Me, all became pop culture icons, and phrases like “shagadelic” and “groovy” entered the lexicon. Given that Austin and his movies helped elevate studio New Line Cinema from a B-movie factory to a major Hollywood force (the profits from the Austin Powers movies helped bankroll Lord of the Rings), why has the '60s spy not returned for more cinematic outings?

The answer is a complicated one. Financial troubles at New Line—which ultimately went bankrupt and sold to Warner Bros.—stalled the movie, as did a television deal to produce an animated series. Star/writer Mike Myers has said many times that he has a full idea for a fourth film that would revolve around Dr. Evil, and the actor hoped to move into production after the release of The Love Guru. That film ended up bombing in a major way, significantly hurting Myers’ reputation in the process. Myers had reportedly begun writing the script in 2011, though he had yet to finish it as of 2013. Myers and director Jay Roach continue to hope for a fourth film, though for the moment, Austin Powers 4 has yet to materialize.

14. Atuk

Atuk, a comedy about an Eskimo coming to New York City, has rested in Develompent Hell for 40 years! Based on the novel by Canadian author Mordecai Richler, the movie follows the adventures of the portly title character as he visits the United States and, of course, falls in love with a beautiful filmmaker named Michelle. Fiddler on the Roof director Norman Jewison had planned to make the movie as early as 1971, though the script landed in Development Hell almost right away. Ten years later, Jewison had pegged John Belushi for the lead. Unfortunately, Belushi overdosed and died shortly thereafter, and the movie fell apart again.

Atuk made it before the cameras, albeit briefly, in 1988 with shock comic Sam Kinnison in the lead. Creative differences halted shooting, however, and amid threats of lawsuits, production was shut down. Kinnison died not long after, and Atuk landed in Hell again. The script has continued to attract interested actors over the years, including Chris Farley and John Candy, both of whom also died after reading it! Rumors that Atuk actually has a curse on it have since begun to circulate in Hollywood, and thus the script remains firmly chained in Development Hell.

13. Stargate

Roland Emmerich’s Stargate became a modest hit in 1994. The film, which starred James Spader and Kurt Russell, followed the adventures of an Egyptologist and an army unit who get transported to an alien world ruled over by the ancient Egyptian Gods via the titular object. The movie established a cult following which only flourished as Stargate-SG1 became a genre TV hit, launching two spinoffs, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe, by 2007. With interest in the franchise at a new pique, Emmerich announced a reboot of Stargate that would launch a trilogy. The new movies would also follow his intended arc for the original story, ignoring the popular television shows altogether.

Then, Hollywood struck. Emmerich’s long-awaited sequel to Independence Day, Emmerich has said the reboot has stalled, and it's unlikely to go into production anytime in the near future.

12. The Crow

Audiences in 1994 made The Crow into a sleeper hit. As directed by Alex Proyas, the film centered on a murder victim who returns to live to exact revenge on his killers one year after his death. The movie starred actor Brandon Lee, son of the legendary Bruce Lee, in what was set to be his breakthrough role. Tragedy struck during filming, as a prop gun malfunctioned, mortally wounding Lee. Two sequels followed, though the series never quite recovered from Lee’s departure.

Blade director Steven Norrington had announced a reboot of The Crow in 2008, only to have development stall. Legal issues kept the movie from being made for several years amid a revolving door of casting, with names like Mark Wahlberg, Luke Evans, and Tom Hiddleston all announced for the lead at one point or another. By 2015, the movie had stalled due to the bankruptcy of parent production company Relativity Media. Hope glimmered for a moment earlier this year when rights issues have once again (seemingly) halted production.

11. Bill & Ted 3

The first two Bill & Ted films became surprise hits and helped establish the career of Keanu Reeves as a leading man. The adventures across time and space of the dim-witted, titular rockers continued to earn cult followers long after their 1989 debut, and by the mid-00s, rumors began to circulate that Reeves and co-star Alex Winter (who, of late, has gravitated towards directing rather than acting) both showed interest in doing a third installment in the franchise. By 2010, Reeves had announced that the script for a third film was in the works, and he and Winter were both game to reprise their roles.

Since then, Dean Parisot has signed up to direct, though progress on the sequel has slowed. Winter and Reeves had both insisted on script changes, and studio MGM had secured the rights and funding for a potential film. Despite Bill & Ted 3 in production.

10. Terminator 6

James Cameron created a monster franchise with his 1984 sci-fi action picture, The Terminator, which helped launch the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger as an A-list action star. The first sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, earned even better reviews than the first, and broke new ground with its use of computer-generated special effects. Cameron had wanted the franchise to end there, though immense financial incentives eventually lured Schwarzenegger back for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in 2003. A six year hiatus followed, before the abysmal Terminator Salvation threatened to kill the series completely. Schwarzenegger returned in 2015 for the equally maligned Terminator Genisys, which failed to impress at the box office.

So what will become of the Terminator franchise? Studio Paramount had intended Genisys to kick off a new film trilogy and a tie-in TV series, though the underperformance of the film stalled development. Paramount officially dropped plans for sequels or spinoffs earlier this year, effectively leaving the series dead in the water. Schwarzenegger continues to insist a sequel will happen, though at the moment, the Terminator series has taken up residence in Development Hell.

9. Masters of the Universe

With the Transformers movies, and to a lesser extent, the GI Joe franchise, proving that toy lines can launch hit movies rather than the other way around, Hollywood has begun to eye other toy properties, including a reboot of the original toy-to-film franchise, Masters of the Universe. The first movie debuted in 1987 and capped off the craze that began in the mid-80s with a toy line and television cartoon. It remains a cult classic today.

Director John Woo had shown interest in a and most recently, McG, but as of now, Sony has not announced a start or release date. McG continues to meet with actors and work on production art in hopes that the film will still happen.

8. The Kurt Cobain Biopic

Few rock stars have a legacy like that of Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of grunge band Nirvana. Cobain helped kick off a rock Renaissance in the early '90s and became one of the most lauded rock stars of all time, only to take his own life in 1994. Following his tragic suicide, Cobain’s image and song catalog became even more popular, and for years, Hollywood has eyed the rocker as the subject of a major biopic.

Cobain has become the subject of innumerable books over the years, including Heavier than Heaven, an acclaimed, if somewhat controversial, biography. Universal Pictures began eyeing the book as the partial basis for a biographical film, with James McAvoy and Ryan Gosling both vying for the lead role. The proposed movie later landed in Development Hell after Universal expressed dissatisfaction with the script, and as of 2016, the movie remains there. A narrative feature may have also been derailed by Montage of Heck, the well-received 2015 documentary about Cobain directed by Brett Morgan and produced by Cobain’s daughter s. Morgan’s film featured the participation of Cobain’s family, bandmates, and widow Courtney Love, all of whom have come to view the movie as somewhat definitive.

7. Akira

The cyberpunk anime rumors of a live-action remake have circulated since 2002.

Tinseltown has since announced a number of directors as being attached to the project, as well as various target release dates, though the production has yet to come to fruition. Studio Warner Bros. has confirmed owning the rights to the property, and in 2015 made a hard push to sign director George Miller onto the project. Most recently, the studio has met with Justin Lin regarding the live-action remake, though for the moment, Akira has stalled in Development Hell.