A great idea doesn’t always guarantee great movie. Over the years there have been dozens of projects floating around Hollywood that have gotten audiences excited but for one reason or another never made it to the big screen.
Here are Screen Rant’s 8 Amazing Movies That Should Have Been Made.
Return of The Jedi
Sure, fans got an end to the original trilogy from director Richard Marquand, but after Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas approached several filmmakers about the possibility of directing the film. You have to give Lucas credit for thinking outside the box by considering names like David Lynch and David Cronenberg. Their edgy, experimental styles didn’t really suit the established franchise, but the idea of the minds behind The Fly or Twin Peaks directing a Star Wars film is so out there, that fans still can’t resist imagining the possibilities.
Napoleon
Perhaps the most famous unrealized project of director Stanley Kubrick has to be Napoleon. Utterly obsessed with the military leader, Kubrick had done so many years of research into the French leader that he wound up with a filing cabinet filled with index cards, each detailing where Napoleon was, and why, on any given day of his documented life. But when 1970’s Waterloo turned out to be a flop, the studio got nervous. Even though the research was used for his film Barry Lyndon, Kubrick’s epic biopic would have been something special.
Gladiator 2
In 2008 it was revealed that Russell Crowe had approached musician/writer Nick Cave to pen a sequel to the Oscar winning period drama Gladiator. Since Maximus dies at the end of the first film (spoiler), Cave wrote a script that begins with Maximus in purgatory before being sent back to earth by the gods to fight a new Christ figure gaining popularity. Cave wanted it to be called ‘Christ Killer’ and planned a climax with Maximus fighting in famous battles through the ages up to present day. By all accounts it was an incredible script, but one that could never be made by a major studio.
Double V Vega
By now it’s common knowledge that the characters of Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction and Vic Vega (aka Mr. Blonde) in Reservoir Dogs are brothers in the Tarantino Cinematic Universe. Since both characters died in their respective films, Tarantino had kicked around ideas for a prequel called Double V Vega that would feature Vic (Michael Madsen) visiting Vincent (John Travolta) in Amsterdam. There were even talks of a sequel where John Travolta and Michael Madsen would play the older twin brothers of Vincent and Vic out for revenge, but with Tarantino claiming he’s nearing the end of his directing career, and the actors not getting any younger, it’s highly doubtful that one will be the Vega Brothers movie.
A Confederacy of Dunces
Over the years, the adaptation of this Pulitzer Prize winning novel has had massive stars attached, including John Belushi, John Candy, Chris Farley, Will Ferrell and Zach Galifinakis. There’s no question it’s a hit in the making, but progress has been stalled by everything from deaths to natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. In 2013, director Steven Soderbergh claimed the project was cursed, making it hard to believe it will be picked up any time soon.
BioShock
In 2008, Gore Verbinski, hot off hits like The Ring and Pirates of the Caribbean, signed on to direct an adaptation of the surprise hit video game BioShock. Verbinski fought to make the story of a ruined underwater utopia R-Rated, with a budget upwards of $200 million. When the R-rated Watchmen underperformed at the box office, the studio saw it as proof that the idea wouldn’t work, and pulled the plug. Some of the film’s concept art has since been released online, confirming that this would have stayed true to the game’s popular aesthetic while also representing Verbinsksi’s unique vision.
Forty Lashes Less One
The only film Tarantino ever adapted from someone else’s story is 1997’s Jackie Brown, based on Elmore Leonard’s novel “Rum Punch.” Tarantino has mentioned several other Leonard books he owns the rights to and would be interested in adapting, with none more promising than “Forty Lashes Less One”: the story of two condemned men given the chance to earn their freedom by hunting down the five most dangerous criminals in America. Tarantino had even begun writing the screenplay at one point, but considering it’s another western that deals with race and bounty hunters, we probably won’t see Tarantino bring this one to the big screen any time soon.
Halo
With names like Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro attached, plus an incredible short film by the then unknown director Neill Blomkamp, it seems crazy that fans never got the Halo film they were promised. With a script by Alex Garland, who went on to write Dredd and direct Ex Machina, the film entered pre-production in 2004 before getting completely bogged down by development issues and studio politics. All the initial players have moved on to various projects, but the video game franchise is still going strong, begging the question: when is this going to happen?
Conclusion
neillThose are just some of the movies that could have turned into Hollywood hits if they’d actually been made, or tarnished the originals, if they were a disappointment to fans. Which movies do YOU wish had been made? Let us know in the comments, and remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos like this one.
