Filmmaking in Hollywood can be a tricky business. Some projects take time to get off the ground, and difficulties can arise anywhere from getting money for the budget, writing a script that all of the producers, directors, and actors can agree on, and countless production issues that can put a wrench in any project.
Sometimes the people behind the movie can work through them and move forward with the project, but others it doesn’t work out, leaving the project unfinished.
Can’t Wait To See: Dune
Classic science fiction novel Dune has a dedicated cult following that has been begging for a film adaptation for years. The first attempt in 1984 didn’t exactly wow audiences or critics (director David Lynch even tried to have his name removed from the film), and the following decades of attempts to make it made some fans lose hope. There was even a fantastic documentary made about the early attempts to adapt the novel by avant-garde filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowski.
However, this time it seems that Warner Bros. was actually able to pull everything together, with the announcements of critically acclaimed Sicario, Prisoners, and Blade Runner 2047 director Denis Villeneuve, Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer, and an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, and many more all joining the film has audiences eaglerly awaiting this sci-fi epic yet again.
We’ll Never See It: Christopher Nolan’s Howard Hughes Biopic
It’s probably never occurred to you that the world was once very close to having a Christopher Nolan movie starring Jim Carrey. But in the early 2000s, then-newcomer director Christopher Nolan was deep in pre-production of a sprawling biopic that was planned to star the rubber-faced actor, taking on a more serious role for the biopic.
Nolan once referred to the script as “the best he’s ever written,” this biopic will likely remain just that, and nothing more.
Can’t Wait To See: Bill and Ted Face The Music
Excellent! After nearly a decade of teasing, this long-awaited sequel is finally in production. Perfectly timed as Keanu Reeves is going through quite the career boost and has been getting the internet meme treatment through his effortless cool and genuine, caring personality, Bill & Ted fans everywhere have been psyched for this threequel.
Even sans-Rufus, the idea of seeing where the Wyld Stallyns’ epic career has taken the duo has fans excited for another outing.
We’ll Never See It: Neuromancer
This 1984 science fiction novel by cyberpunk novelist Williams Gibson has had several attempts to be made, but none have come near fruition. Gibson’s other adaptations include 1995s Johnny Nmemonic, 1998s New Rose Hotel, but Neuromancer remains the most coveted but seemingly most problematic movie to attempt to get made.
The last we heard was in 2017 that Deadpool director Tim Miller was set to direct, but all has been quiet since then, leaving fans unsure it this adaptation will ever happen.
Can’t Wait To See: Jamie Foxx’s Spawn
Comic book fans have been waiting for this for years. The first attempt at movie based on the ultra-violent Hellspawn superhero in 1997 failed to impress critics or comic book fans, with lead actor Michael Jai White even distancing himself from it, so a reboot has been promised again since.
The first real chance it’s had came a few years ago, with Spawn creator Todd McFarlane announcing a partnership with Blumhouse’s Jason Blum to get an adaptation made, and an announcement coming later that Jamie Foxx is attached to star.
We’ll Never See It: Kubrick’s Napoleon
One of his many unrealizes projects, and by and far his most ambitious, cinematic mastermind Stanley Kubrick was once set to film a large-scale historical epic based on the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. He dedicated years to researching the life of the French Emperor, and went as far as scouting areas in France to film and recruiting thousands of members of the Romanian army to film the huge battle scenes required for this grandiose film.
However, budget issues that the filming would have required, as well as competition with other movies being released around the same time with similar content (1970s Waterloo and 1968s War & Peace) disheartened Kubrick to the point of shelving the project. While a few years ago, Steven Spielberg promised to pick up where Kubrick left off, using his script and vision for a new version of the film which led to True Detective’sCary Fukunaga beginning development of an HBO Miniseries based on the subject, it’s unlikely this will ever happen, as it’s been cold for a few years now.
Can’t Wait To See: Masters Of The Universe
While the vote is split on how this one will turn out, it looks like the world is finally getting another live-action He-Man. Sadly the cinemas have been without seeing the adventures on Eternia since 1987’s adaptation of the toy line, and the past fifteen years have been filled with rumours of a comeback. Hollywood producer McG has made it his mission to get this movie made, starting in the late 00s with John Woo planning a movie, and leading to directors Rian Johnson, John Chu, Chris McKay, and Phil Lord and Chris Miller all being involved at one point or another.
While it seems more than likey than ever that it’s finally happening, with the indie filmmaker directors the Nee Brothers taking the helm, and To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before star Noah Centineo strapping up to play He-Man, Sony Pictures did just pull it’s release date, and without a new date set, the project may be in limbo again.
We’ll Never See It: Quentin Tarantino’s Double V Vega
Hardcore Tarantino fans will definitely have heard of this one. Fun fact; Michael Madsen’s character in Reservoir Dogs and John Travolta’s character in Pulp Fiction are actually brothers! Vic and Vincent Vega.
At one point, Tarantino had written a script pairing up the two actors in yet another crime caper, but as the years went on, and with the on-screen deaths of both characters aging out the actors from ever playing the roles again, this concept will have to be left to the imagination.
Can’t Wait To See: Shang-Chi
An adaptation of comics based on martial artist badass Shang-Chi has been spoken about briefly for decades, with the first adaptation attempt coming straight from Stan Lee trying to bring on Brandon Lee, son of Shang-Chi’s original inspiration Brandon Lee, to star.
However, it never had a realistic chance of being made until the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the character being announced by Kevin Feige for an adaptation. Kim’s Convenience star Simu Liu then went to Twitter to vocalize his interest in the role, and lo and behold, he’s now the star.
We’ll Never See It: Kurt Cobain Biopic
Rumors have swirled for years, but it doesn’t look like we’ll ever get a proper film adaptation of the life of late grunge rocker Kurt Cobain. Some may think it’s for the better, but attempts have been made with the approval of Cobain’s widow Courtney Love, never getting past the scripting phase.
One docudrama pseudo-attempt did get made in 2015 called “Soaked In Bleach”, leading to Love sending cease-and-desist letters to theaters showing it, and it remaining an unofficial biopic.
