Development Hell: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
m clean up |
No edit summary |
||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
{{outdated}}
[[File:D3poster 559.png|link=Homestar Runner|right|[http://www.telltalegames.com/strongbad/dangeresque3 November 2008.]]]
Line 21 ⟶ 22:
== Anime and Manga ==
* An anime adaptation of ''Tonari no 801-chan'' was originally supposed to be animated by Kyoto Animation, and even had a preliminary website up for it. Then something happened and it fell into limbo. The project was ultimately cancelled, though a 90-second animated OP was created by A-1 Pictures and bundled with Vol.4 of the web manga.
* ''[[Lost Universe]]'': A which had only one season; a second season was due to follow, but because of a financial pitfall occurring through animation studios at the time, it was held off in favor of more ''Slayers'' media, and may be still.
* A stall can be typical of all English manga distributors, especially for less common titles, but the Yaoi distributor Drama Queen seems to have either gone on a dragging hiatus since 2007, or is dead and no one can figure out where it's been buried, so to speak.
* For a while it looked unlikely that Maikaze will finish the promised second and third episodes of ''[[Touhou Musou Kakyou]]'', due to low sales and criticisms over the [[Off-Model|artwork]], but a trailer for the second episode was released at Comiket 79, so there may be hope after all.
* ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'': Due to [[Tokyopop
** It's no better in Japan, where after five volumes it just ''stopped''.
* ''The Five Killers'' was supposed to be an original creation from writer/producer Eric Calderon as an animated TV series (12 episodes with a 1 hour finale) done by [[GONZO]]. A trailer is unfortunately all that came out due to GONZO's financial situation.
* An [[Appleseed]] television series titled "Appleseed: Genesis" was first announced in 2005 and languished in Development Hell until it was officially canceled in 2008, resulting in several lawsuits. A
* After ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]'' ended, it was announced that there would be a movie sequel which would be the [[Grand Finale]] for the Cosmic Era timeline. However, the film's head writer Chiaki Morosawa has been battling cancer since ''Destiny'' (according to an April 2008 interview with Animage magazine, Morosawa had uterine fibroids and an ovarian cyst, and had a hysterectomy performed), so literally no progress has been made on the film since 2005.
* ''[[Despera]]'s'' production is currently on hold due to the director Ryutaro Nakamura's health issues.
Line 45 ⟶ 43:
* Monica, a French luxury automobile brand, created 22 '''prototypes''' and only 8 '''production cars''' before work was stopped indefinitely. Read more [[wikipedia:Monica (car)|here]]. It was a sign of [[What Could Have Been]]. [http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/z_Monica.jpg Here's a photo].
* General Motors planned to turn Saturn into Opel of America, with more vehicles added to the product line, when the 2007-2009 global economic crisis struck. The name then disappeared as 2009 ended and 2010 started.
** The Saturn division itself was first announced and a prototype shown in 1983. It was 1991 by the time you could actually buy one, and the original sedan's wraparound rear window had been stolen ''internally'' by Oldsmobile, leading observers to see the Saturn as the "copy".▼
▲The Saturn division itself was first announced and a prototype shown in 1983. It was 1991 by the time you could actually buy one, and the original sedan's wraparound rear window had been stolen ''internally'' by Oldsmobile, leading observers to see the Saturn as the "copy".
* Due in large part (but not entirely) to [[World War Two]], the VW Beetle design was finalized for production in 1938 but the first cars delivered to retail customers weren't until 1947.
* Fiat has been teasing the return of their [[wikipedia:Alfa Romeo|Alfa Romeo]] brand to the United States since about 2003. Aside from a few [[wikipedia:Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione|8C Competizione supercars]] being sold to American collectors, nothing has come of it. Now that Fiat owns Chrysler, though, it should happen in 2013 at the earliest...
Line 72 ⟶ 69:
* Kevin Smith's smash ''[[Daredevil]]'' relaunch got him on a comics kick which turned out to be more than he could handle. His ''Spider-Man/Black Cat'' miniseries had a gap of over three years between issues 3 and 4. During that time, most fans had dismissed the remaining issues as vaporware—as they have his ''Daredevil/Bullseye'' miniseries, whose only issue to date was published in 2002.
* The manga-inspired ''[[Battle Chasers]]'' was meant to be Joe Madureira's magnum opus, spanning several years and hundreds of issues. However, thanks to his obsession with playing video games and, in the early 2000s, pretty much abandoning the industry to draw concept art for start-up game publishers, it petered out at about ten issues, with the final issue having a delay of about 1 1/2 years and ending on gigantic cliffhangers. (And no, not [[Ms. Fanservice|Monika's]].) A continuation had been promised, but going on eight years later it still hasn't materialized.
* Devil's Due Publishing has been putting off publishing ''[[Halloween]]'' comics, including the third and final issue of ''The First Death of Laurie Strode'' and the miniseries ''The Mark of Thorn'' (which had at least a dozen covers revealed) over and over again for somewhat vague reasons.
* [[Neil Gaiman]]'s introduction to ''[[The Sandman|The Sandman: Endless Nights]]'' mentions a story called ''Obsessional'' that he plotted with the artist of ''Going Inside''. It involves the population of Manhattan joining a procession into the East River.
Line 86 ⟶ 82:
== Films -- Animation ==
* ''[[Science Ninja Team Gatchaman|Gatchaman's]]'' CGI film,
* [[The Movie]] of ''[[Clerks the Animated Series]]''. Originally planned as ''Clerks: Sell Out'', wherein Dante and Randall decide to make a movie about their escapades in the Quick Stop, this got an animation test in 2006 and was supposed to go straight to DVD a little while after ''Clerks 2''. However, according to [[Kevin Smith]], Disney still own the rights to the series and all designs related to it, which essentially negates all possibility of there being a movie any time soon.
* ''[[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]: Judas Contract'' was originally meant to be one of the first of the new franchise of DC Animated films. It was supposed to be a recreation of the classic storyline meant to piggyback off the success of the canceled ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' TV series. It was even supposed to maintain all the racier elements of the arc, such as a scene with Terra in Deathstroke's room with a nightgown on and smoking. Unfortunately it kept getting pushed back further and further to let other more popular heroes a chance to shine until eventually it was revealed the project had been cancelled. Not that it wasn't a surprise since that announcement came about several years after the start of the animated movies and they were already adapting ''Superman and Batman: Public Enemies'' to the animated screen.
Line 92 ⟶ 88:
* A sequel/prequel to ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]''. One was attempted during, but floundered due to many problems at [[Disney]], with [[Steven Spielberg]], problems converting the characters to CGI, and a skyrocketing budget. Attempts to make a sequel anyway continue to be discussed, but Roger Rabbit remains one of the biggest film properties to never be properly capitalized.
* A CGI ''[[Spyro the Dragon]]'' movie was announced in late 2007, and posters emerged in early 2009 which slated the film for a Christmas release. While two years is hardly a stretch in Development Hell terms, as of this writing (September '09), virtually nothing is known about the film; there is no official web site, no confirmed release date, and no details about the cast or plot. Rumors persist that development has been postponed indefinitely due to the merger between Activision and Blizzard Entertainment and the subsequent closure of ''Spyro'''s parent studio Sierra Online. [[Word of God]] has stated that the movie has been officially canceled.
* ''[[Dragon's Lair
** Since its 2015 Indiegogo had less-than-stellar funding, and since making an animated movie is ''extremely'' expensive, '''and''' since the Indiegogo only promised one minute of full animation out of a 10 minute pitch, the chances of it ''ever'' getting out of Development Hell is miniscule.
* The CGI ''[[Thundercats]]'' film, which was supposed to be made by the art director of ''[[Halo (series)|Halo]]''.
** It [[Epileptic Trees|apparently]] reincarnated in the form of new [[Animated Series]] ''[[Thundercats 2011|ThunderCats (2011)]]'', which premiered in July 2011 on [[Cartoon Network]].
* ''The [[Samurai Jack]] Movie''. [http://www.kungfucinema.com/j-j-abrams-to-produce-samurai-jack-film-11829 It
** [[Saved From Development Hell|Movie? Who needs a movie?]]. A comic book continuation series was made between 2013 and 2015.
*** '''And''' [[Toonami]] will air a '''new''' season!!! (Set for 2016)
* ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents]]'' also had an animated film in Development Hell for a while. [[That Other Wiki]] says the "Wishology" specials may have started out as that movie; [[A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!|a live-action FOP TV movie]] was eventually released in 2011.
* ''[[The Dream Machine]]'', delayed by the declining health and eventual death of [[Satoshi Kon]]. His collaborators planned to finish it, but was announced in August 2011 that production had been halted due to financing issues.
* ''Truckers'': [[DreamWorks]] was supposed to do an adaptation of [[Terry Pratchett]]'s book with Academy Award winning writer Simon Beaufoy writing the script and a set release date of 2012. The talks of making the film seemed to die down once the script was completed and [[DreamWorks]] and Beaufoy have since moved on.
* ''Blue Planet'', a CGI sci-fi action movie planned by now-defunct Rainbow Studios (later aquired by [[THQ]]), with a video-game tie-in. A trailer was released, to widespread acclaim, which showcased the for-the-time high-quality CGI, parodies of Pixar's ''[[Toy Story]]'' and ''[[A Bug's Life|A Bugs Life]]'' characters, and a soundtrack featuring "More Human Than Human" by [[Rob Zombie]]. Much of the already-shot footage was recycled for the time-in game, which was eventually released as ''[[Deadly Tide]]''.
* In the late 1990's, Fox and [[Matt Groening]] signed a deal to make three films based on ''[[The Simpsons]]''. The first film was released in 2007.
== Films -- Live Action ==
* National Treasure 3's
** The last news about the subject was in 2014.
* The Story of Bonny and Clyde has been delayed for several years . After Hillary Duff who was cast as Bonny became pregnant the producers quickly replaced both leads fearing that with Duff pregnant the film would be delayed further if they waited for her to be available. The With the roles recast the film however has yet to start production. Even Duff has since given birth.
* ''[[Eloise]] in Paris'' - A live-action adaptation of the Eloise book of the same name has been in development since late 2007-2008, and was to star Australian child actress Jordana Beatty for the title role alongside [[Kill Bill]] actress [[Uma Thurman]]. A few years later and yet little, if any, development was announced, and Beatty would obviously be too old to play the title character.
* ''Invisible Monsters'', based off of a book penned by Chuck Palahniuk (of ''[[Fight Club]]'' fame), has been in development for forever and a half.
* ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]''. It had a French version successfully released in 1966, but those guys over at Hollywood are still stuck on this.
** At one point, Frank Darabont was involved and wrote a script. That was in ''2005''.
* [[Terry Pratchett]] has joked that the road to film for ''[[Good Omens]]'' has become so long and complicated that even he has stopped paying attention. He relies on fans at conventions and signings to keep him posted on the latest news/rumors. One such rumour was that Robin Williams will play the angel.
** Lo and behold! there is a four part TV series in the works by now. [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a311115/neil-gaiman-teases-good-omens-tv-series.html\]
Line 138 ⟶ 130:
** It wasn't until making ''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]'' that he finally got a studio to okay his script for ''[[H.P. Lovecraft|At the Mountains of Madness]]''—a script that apparently had no romantic subplot, a [[Bittersweet Ending]], and [[Ultimate Evil|very vague monsters]], none of which are things producers want. It was also going to have Ron Perlman, apparently; he joked that [[Author Appeal|del Toro will let him pick the sort of jar he gets to float in]]. [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_the_mountains_of_madness#Film But Universal Studios gave up on it in 2011, and del Toro gave up on it altogether in 2012].
** He was also planning an adaptation of ''Domu: A Child's Dream'', by [[Katsuhiro Otomo]] (better known for ''[[Akira]]''), which has apparently been called off due to rights issues.
* ''[[The Dam Busters]]'', a remake of the 1955 classic. Mel Gibson bought the rights in the late 1990s but never made much progress past rumors of filming in west England. Peter Jackson obtained the rights a few years ago and rumor has it that filming had begun in 2009. Then Jackson decided to scrap the film and restart in 3-D.
* The film ''Quality of Life'', a movie that was supposed to wrap up the storyline of the Canadian series ''[http://www.davincisinquest.com/index_dvi.php DaVinci's Inquest]'', about a coroner living in downtown Vancouver who champions rights for heroin junkies and prostitutes. The series ended after eight seasons (with one of those seasons being a spin-off where the lead character becomes the Mayor of Vancouver, emulating the real-life example of coroner Larry Campbell). The film was due to be released in 2006, but has been pushed back continually, to the point that it is on hold indefinitely. Of course, considering that the show was canceled by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during an election, and the film deals with hot-button issues like prostitution and safe-injection sites, perhaps there is more to this situation than meets the eye?
* There's a lot of [[Marvel Universe|Marvel]] films that appear to have stalled.
* ''[[The Punisher]]'' sequel to the 2004 version was in this condition before getting cancelled. In 2007, Thomas Jane, who would have played Jigsaw in the sequel, refused to appear, stating his intent to buff up for the role was not worth a movie he just didn't believe in.
** The proposed [[Luke Cage]] film.
** Both the third ''[[Fantastic Four (film)|Fantastic Four]]'' and a spin-off ''[[Silver Surfer]]'' movie were stuck here for about two years before Fox decided to reboot the series. [[So Bad It's Horrible|And look how ''that'' turned out...]]
*** A similar situation
** One recurring [[X-Men (film)|X-Men]] film rumour was a prequel for Magneto. Current status: "[http://www.empireonline.com/features/future-of-x-men-franchise/3.asp Maybe it'll get made in five years - who knows?]" This one is but officially dead now with the production of ''X-Men: First Class'', which covers much of the same ground.
** Sub-Mariner.
* ''[[Wonder Woman]]'' has been in constant hell for years:
** In 2001, Joel Silver was the producer, asking Todd Alcott to write a script. After blowing through a series of screenwriters in the following years, the project stalled, but appeared to gain traction again in 2005 when [[Joss Whedon]] was placed in charge of directing and scripting the film. After nearly two years of no progress on a draft, Whedon left the project on bad terms and it stalled yet again. A spec script was purchased as Whedon departed to ensure the rights didn't revert back, but yet another script was commissioned in 2008.
** David E. Kelley wrote a treatment for a Wonder Woman TV series. It was rejected by NBC, but after seeing the strong initial ratings for Kelley's ''[[Harry's Law]]'' show, they changed their mind. A pilot directed by McG was produced... and rejected by NBC in May 2011. After seeing the leaked scripts for the project, some Wonder Woman fans consider this a good thing.
** The movie project might not be quite dead yet. Nicolas Winding Refn (yes, [[Drive (film)|that guy]]) has expressed interest in directing, and Christina Hendricks is being considered for the lead (of course). However, the earliest production start date
* The ''[[Battle Royale]]'' American adaptation. In June 2006, producers Neil Mortiz and Roy Lee announced that they had the greenlight to go ahead with the movie, which would, indeed, retain the "high schoolers killing each other" theme, and that New Line Cinema had given a tentative release date of 2008. Aside from the Virginia Tech Massacre making New Line nervous about the themes, they still haven't acquired the rights to make the film in the first place and apparently don't wish to try.
** ''[[Battle Royale]]'' might be fast tracked depending on the performance of the ''[[Hunger Games]]''. In fact ''[[Hunger Games]]'' may open a new renaissance of human hunting human movies in the same manner as 28 Days Later
*** It did. Kind of. Just with [[:Category:Young Adult Literature|a genre more fitting]] for the American public. [[:Category:Fantasy Literature|Contemporary fantasy]] hit it big, but only fantastical creatures and magical powers did.
* The ''[[Castlevania]]'' Movie seemed to have been this one for some years, and still is, thanks to the [[Writers Strike]].
** ''[[Castlevania]]'' might actually be one of the rare cases in which Development Hell is a good thing. Originally, the script was referred to as a sort of "Dracula Begins" and did away completely with the Vampire Killer. Instead, Simon had a [[BFS]]) and everything that makes Castlevania what it is in favor of basically a retelling of Dracula. The current director signed onto the project ''because'' of the Vampire Killer and how the hero can be just as "dangerous and sexy" as the villain. The movie poster revealed in 2009 shows Simon holding a katana as well as the Vampire Killer looking upon Dracula's castle in a similar picture to what is usually used as box art for the games.
** This may be underway
* There is a rumor that there would be a ''[[Fatal Frame]]'' movie, but it seems we're in for a long wait.
* ''[http://www.dionaea-house.com/ The Dionaea House]'', a story told virally over the internet from 2004 to 2006, abruptly stops on several cliffhangers at different points in time, apparently because Warner Bros. purchased rights for a film adaptation. According to [http://listing-index.ebay.com/movies/The_Dionaea_House.html eBay's film listing], it was supposed to come out in 2007. IMDB once had a listing for a 2010 release (under the name ''The Residents'' for some reason), but even that has fallen down the Memory Hole.
** According to the creator it's dead for now. Whether or not [[Incredibly Lame Pun|the door is still open]] for it to be made remains to be seen.
* ''[[Hack Slash]]'', which is apparently coming along... just at an insanely slow pace (more [http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=17354 here]). And now they are planning on making some kind of animated feature.
*
▲* Speaking of JMS, he still wants a ''[[Babylon 5]]'' made-for-cinema movie someday. There was a project to produce one in 2004, but it was aborted in 2005. It would have been called "The Memory of Shadows" and involved Galen and an [[Earth Force]] intelligence officer tracking down an intergalactic conspiracy that used Shadow technology.
* ''Meg,'' which was supposed to have arrived in 2005.
* The American adaptation of ''[[Infection]]''
Line 176 ⟶ 159:
* Similarly, ''Pinkville,'' which is about the My Lai Massacre.
* At one point there was talk of a ''[[Dead Rising]]'' movie.
* The ''[[Sin City]]'' sequels. "A Dame to Kill For" was released in 2014, and now, we have to wait for the others...
* Since ''[[Superman (film)|Superman]] Returns'' was mentioned, everyone was signed to a sequel to that, but it got postponed over and over again (the middling box office returns helped Warner not prioritize its production), and was eventually cancelled and replaced with a reboot.
* ''[[The Bad Seed]]'' remake.
Line 183 ⟶ 165:
** A bit of trivia. There was actually a contest sponsored by Dimension Films at one point that would award one lucky fan with a bit of screen time in this movie. Needless to say, a winner was apparently announced. Said winner was shown on the 30th anniversary documentary, including showing the announcement of her winning. She was an extra in the remake.
* The ''[[Spawn]]'' movie sequel.
** For awhile, there was talk of a sequel
* Hey Paul Reubens, when are you going to make those new Pee-wee Herman movies? At last report, two sequels were being written back-to-back but Herman's stage show has stalled production of said movies.
* The ''[[Gears of War]]'' film has hit Many road blocks. New Line has slashed the film's budget and is trimming back the epic plot elements, requiring a new script to be written. Also, Len Wiseman has apparently decided not to direct the film.
* ''[[Onimusha]],'' due to the death of Heath Ledger.
* The sequel to ''[[Dog Soldiers]]'', which was possibly derailed because of [[Gender Flip]].
* ''[[Rendezvous With Rama]]'': Now dead since Morgan Freeman (the rights holder) doesn't want to do it now.
* A few years ago there were competing development projects about Hannibal Barca. One with Denzel Washington, another with Vin Diesel. Either one could have been interesting. But so far, nothing.
* ''The Sky Is Falling,'' which is said to be the greatest screenplay never filmed.
* Similarly, Brian Flemming's ''Danielle''
* ''Ripley's Believe it or Not!''
* The IMAX special ''Godzilla: 3D to the Max''
* ''[[Hunter]]: The Reckoning''. Rumor has it the project entered Development Hell because [[Uwe Boll]] bought the film rights to the video game; when White Wolf found out just who was going to be adapting one of their properties for cinema, they basically told him, "Don't you fucking dare."
* ''[[Mortal Kombat (film)|Mortal Kombat]]: Devastation'', derailed by Hurricane Katrina. The studio had been set up in New Orleans.
Line 201 ⟶ 182:
*** Speaking about Waters, he had planned to direct a family-oriented Christmas comedy called ''Fruitcake'' about a gay teenager finding acceptance during the holidays for a 2007 release. The film never got made due to financial troubles at production company Capitol Films (unlike Waters' newer projects, this did not have studio backing) and seems to have been locked up due to that company's bankruptcy. Waters hasn't directed since then (but has done many acting roles and live appearances).
* The remake of ''[[Hellraiser]]''. Mostly due to the fact that [[Executive Meddling|The Weinsteins]] keep rejecting the ideas of every writer and director that has ever been attached to the project. They are making another sequel now...
* The re-release of ''[[Let It Be]]'', the infamous [[The Beatles|Beatles]] documentary. [http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/54635/Macca-and-Ringo-say-just-Let-It-Be Sources say] it hardly will be released while Paul and Ringo are still alive.
* ''[[Bloom County|Opus: The Last Christmas]]'', which is dead according to Berkeley Breathed.
* Similarly, a ''[[Get Fuzzy]]'' movie has been long rumored.
* And a ''[[Dilbert]]'' movie has been too.
* ''The Magic 7''. This December 2009, it finally comes out.
** Or not. The project was in development since the 1990s. Two voice actors have died during the wait.
* What the hell is up with [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[Cell]]'' movie? Similarly ''[[The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon]]''.
* A remake of ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' was originally announced in development, but due to the death of Heath Ledger (who had expressed great interest in playing Alex before the project was announced), it is unlikely that production will continue.
* [[The Movie]] of ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]''.
** It
* ''Case 39'', The film has been completed as far back as 2007, but it stayed in limbo until it finally got a US release in October 2010.
* The American live-action adaptation of ''Wicked City''.
Line 217 ⟶ 199:
* Since at least the early 1990s, Roger Daltrey of [[The Who]] has been attempting to put a biopic of his late bandmate Keith Moon on the big screen. Robert Downey Jr. was once considered for the lead role before, in Daltrey's words, he read the script and did everything in it. Currently, IMDB lists [[Mike Myers]] as playing the title role in "Untitled Keith Moon Project."
* In 1994 there were talks of a film adaptation of the musical ''[[Into the Woods]]'', where [[Robin Williams]] would have played The Baker. Sadly, it never came to pass.
** Instead, a different adaptation was released in 2014.
* An entire section of this page can go to planned video game movies, among other things, ''[[Rainbow Six]]'' (based off part 3) with John Woo as director, ''[[Perfect Dark]]'' was announced in 2001 (later changed to a TV series but still no word), ''[[Crazy Taxi]]'' back in 2000, and of all things a LIVE-ACTION ''[[Pac-Man]]'' movie was announced in 2003.
** ''[[American McGee's Alice]]''. There were even rumors of [[Tim Burton]] directing, probably just because the game appears heavily inspired by his works. A [[Alice in Wonderland (film)|Burton-directed Alice movie]] has been eventually released for real, but it has nothing to do with the videogame.
Line 222 ⟶ 205:
** Fresnadillo has also left the project
** [[The Suffering]] is currently slated for a 2012 release. Given that the only available info on the project is from 2005-7, it doesn't seem likely.
** ''[[Halo]]''
*** [[Steven Spielberg]] is attempting to revive the ''Halo'' film, but is instead focusing on the novelizations like ''Fall of Reach'' in order to avoid legal issues with Universal.
*** [http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/04/halo-movie-generation-xbox/ This Wired article] provides an in depth view of the drama, and points out that the film's failure to materialize is likely due to Microsoft's inexperience in dealing with Hollywood politics.
** A ''[[Monkey Island]]'' film was in production for some time and got canceled. Much of the script was reworked for ''Pirates of the Carribean.'' So the first high-quality theme park movie adaptation could have been the first high-quality video game movie adaptation.
* Apparently, there were plans for a ''[[Warrior Cats]]'' movie, but they were dropped when it was considered a gamble in light of the economic recession, due to [[What Do You Mean It's for Kids?|the appropriateness of the content of what is ostensibly a children's series]]. The film's status has been downgraded from "definitely going to happen", to "not even under consideration".
* The sequel for ''[[The Incredible Hulk]]'' has fallen into this territory. While some actors are under contract or willing to return for the sequel, Norton himself is not and it is unclear if he will reprise his role. Leterrier has gone back and forth on the decision, but has stated that he's open to directing the sequel, but it's predicted that said sequel won't be coming out until at least 2012 and after the much anticipated ''[[The Avengers (Comic Book)|Avengers]]'' film. Even that film is moving very slowly.
Line 235 ⟶ 215:
* The Brazilian Job, sequel to the 2003 remake of ''[[The Italian Job (2003 film)|The Italian Job]]'' has been in the works since 2004 but was never finished due to the inability for the studio to agree on a finalized script. There have been rumors that a script was being considered in 2009, but nothing final. The project is currnetly still listed as being in development, but there's not even a projected year of release, so don't expect it anytime soon.
** There's also rumors that one of the scripts for this film ended up becoming [[Fast Five]], which is plausible, given that the plot for the Brazilian Job sounds almost identical to that film.
* The planned ''[[Justice League]]'' film (in a serious case of [[What Could Have Been]]) petered out after a year in development. In 2007, pre-production got underway, with many major names attached to star in the film (including Adam Brody as The Flash, Common as [[Green Lantern]] John Stewart, and Michael Gough as Alfred [reprising his role from the 90's ''[[Batman (film)|Batman]]'' franchise]). Numerous problems happened during pre-production (the film's costume designer passed away, a Hollywood writer's strike derailed the script development and there were rumors that director George Miller [''[[Mad Max]]''] had been canned from the project). Finally, the film was delayed less than ''a month'' before it began shooting. It is now indefinitely on hold.
* A third ''[[Fletch]]'' movie has been in the works since 1997, with [[Kevin Smith]] once attached to direct and Ben Affleck and even Zach Braff for the title role. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20342679,00.html This] ''Entertainment Weekly'' article has all the sordid details.
* ''Tongue of Fury'', the sequel to ''[[Kung Pow]]: Enter the Fist'', was announced since the end of the first film in 2002. However, no word of it has ever surfaced. [[Word of God]] states that Steve Oedekerk is still sifting through a huge library of Hong Kong martial arts films to find the right scenes to lift. There were also rumors of a possible 2010 release.
* The ''Elfstones of [[Shannara]]'' and ''[[Magic Kingdom of Landover|Magic Kingdom for Sale -- SOLD!]]'' movies. Yes, there are plans. One version of the proposed script for the latter would have given Ben a son and daughter, but Terry Brooks nixed that because their characters weren't developed enough.
* The third ''[[James Bond (film)|James Bond]]'' film starring [[Timothy Dalton]], eventually titled ''The Property of a Lady''—MGM was going through many turmoils, and eventually Dalton's contract expired. Then [[Pierce Brosnan]] was hired, and the rest is history (the 6-year gap between ''[[Licence to Kill]]'' and ''[[Goldeneye]]'' remains the largest of the series).
* ''[[The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension]]'' has two of these: The sequel film ''Buckaroo Banzai vs. the World Crime League'', which stalled out despite enthusiastic responses from the original cast; and an animated spinoff TV series on Fox, ''Buckaroo Banzai: Ancient Secrets and New Mysteries''. At this point, they can both be considered dead. The DVD release of the original move was this for about a decade, due to a complicated rights issue that was not resolved until the death of the license holder.
* Diane Duane wrote a screenplay for the first book of the ''[[Young Wizards]]'' series and reported that it was in very early development stages on the Young Wizards website back in 2007. As of 2010, there has been no progress whatsoever towards a finished movie.
* The live action [[Voltron]] film. Due to rights issues between the American rights holders (they own the names) and the Japanese rights holders (they own the likenesses).
**
* Even after the under performance of the first ''[[Reign of Fire]]'' film, actors from the film still indicated that their still might be a sequel in the works.
* The third ''Alien vs. Predator'' film.
Line 256 ⟶ 233:
* This is the current and probably permanent location of the proposed film of the television series ''[[Blake's 7]]'' since Paul Darrow (the actor who played Avon) resigned from the project due to "artistic differences".
* The Snoop Dogg movie ''Black Ice'' has been on and off in development for the latter part of the decade. Snoop said in a recent interview that scheduling and communication issues have caused the delays, but insists that it'll see the light of day.
* A [[Biopic]] about Baron Gustaf Mannerheim, Marshal of Finland during [[World War II]], was announced in 2000, with Finnish director Renny Harlin attached. The filming has been postponed many times due to budgetary issues. Harlin finally pulled out in May 2011, but it is unclear whether the project will go on without him.
* A remake of ''[[The Incredible Shrinking Man]]'' has been in the works since 2001, with [[Eddie Murphy]]'s name often attached. It's still apparently in pre-production.
* In 1992 it was announced that [[John Hughes]] had [http://www.variety.com/article/VR100425.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&query=warner+in+%27peanuts%27+set signed a development deal with Warner Brothers] to write and produce a live-action ''[[Peanuts]]'' movie. Nothing more was heard of the project after that.
** A 2015 animated adaptation came out instead.
* There has also been a lot of talk about the musical version of ''[[Wicked (theatre)|Wicked]]'' being made into a movie. It appears to be just that: talk. Oh sure, it's said to be officially confirmed, but only recently have they began looking for a cast, at least three years after the confirmation of it...
* The Brazilian movie ''Chatô'' started filming in 1998. It spent a lot of money, led his director to get sued, but no one even knows if it will ever come out!
* ''[[Red Sonja]]'', specially since the ''[[Conan the Barbarian 2011]]'' tanked at the box office.
* The remake of ''[[The Entity]]''.
* The adaptation of Sister Souljah's urban fiction novel ''The Coldest Winter Ever''. The adaptation was rumored as far back as 01 or 02. But nothing ever came of it. Then in 05 Jada Pinkett-Smith tried to get it off the ground as a producer but it fell through.
* The remake of ''[[The Wiz]]'', which was rumored to star [[Aaliyah]] and R&B singer Ginuwine. This was back in 1999-2000. But the idea seemed to stall even before Aaliyah's untimely death.
* The new adaptation of ''[[The Crow]]''. Nobody could agree on a script. Stephen Norrington eventually left the project. Then a lawsuit between Harvey Weinstein and [[Relativity Media]] threatened the project again. Relativity won the suit and F. Javier Gutiérrez was named as director in January 2012.
* ''The Minds of Billy Milligan'', the story of a (actual) man with multiple personalities, was adapted into a screenplay called ''The Crowded Room'' by Todd Graff in something like the late 1970s. Dozens of actors, producers and directors including James Cameron (who wrote a second screenplay) and Steven Soderburgh have signed onto the project and quit.
* The remake of ''[[Barbarella]]'' has been stuck here for a while. Back in 2008, Universal was gearing it up with Robert Rodriguez as the director. Rose McGowan was to take the role of Barbarella, but Universal freaked out over the high budget and they didn't think McGowan was right for the role. Rodriguez was not willing to make any changes, so he shopped the remake to other studios. Further problems came when his backers wanted Barbarella to be aimed for the German audience. Rodriguez didn't like that plan, so he finally gave up in May 2009. Recently, it was announced that Robert Luketic was to take over the director's chair, but production didn't really get off the ground. Now that the film's proposed producer, Dino De Laurentiis, has died, the remake now seems really unlikely.
** Though
* There is little news of the American adaptation of ''[[Death Note]]'' which was said to be released in 2011 (with a rumor around that the protagonist would be played by [[Zac Efron]]). A director had just been announced, so it might be a year or two before production starts.
* The [[Julia Roberts]] / [[Ryan Reynolds]] film ''Fireflies in the Garden'' has been mired in post-production hell since being finished in early 2008 due to mixed early word, the film's original distributor (the same one as the aforementioned ''[[All the Boys Love Mandy Lane]]'') going under, and legal issues involving the film rights. It's also notable that Roberts was even doing the talk show rounds promoting the film's forthcoming release...in 2008. It has been released internationally though.
Line 280 ⟶ 253:
* ''[[Wanted]]'' was supposed to get a sequel, yet everyone involved in it got so busy (the director with ''[[Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter]]'', the protagonist with ''[[X-Men (film)|X-Men]]: First Class'') that the producer has since said the movie "will not happen any time soon if at all."
* The film adaptation of Green Day's rock opera ''[[American Idiot]]'' has been in development since 2005. Several scripts have been written, and Tom Hanks has expressed interest in producing the film, but nothing definitive has yet been announced. When asked if the movie was truth, lie, or mystery, drummer Tre Cool responded that it was "a true mystery".
** A 2010 Broadway musical was made instead.
* There is something of a cottage industry based around rumors about live-action adaptations of anime films:
** The live-action ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' film was announced sometime between 2005-2007, but nothing has come of it since. [[Keanu Reeves]] (who is supposed to playing the lead character, Spike Spiegel) has given conflicting statements about his involvement in it.
Line 286 ⟶ 260:
* ''[[The Great Khan]]'', Sergei Bodrov's follow-up to the 2007 ''[[Film/Mongol|Mongol]]''.
* The ''[[Skins]]'' movie. It was supposed to be released in summer 2011, but as of the last report they're having difficulty even just figuring out which characters are going to be in it. While it was originally supposed to focus just on tying up Generation 2's loose ends, they also were trying to shoehorn in a few characters from Generation 1, and then with the new third generation things became even more complicated. Especially with some fan speculation that the upcoming sixth series may be the show's last, and the film may end up being the wrap-up to the ''whole franchise''. Maybe now that the US remake has been cancelled Bryan Elsley will be free to focus on the film again and we'll start getting some answers.
*
** Forget a movie. ''There's getting a whole-new season!'' [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|That's way better.]]
* A few years ago, [[Tom Hanks]] expressed interest in making and starring in film adaptations of [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey|2061]]'' and ''3001'', although nothing has been heard of this since.
* A sequel to ''[[New Jack City]]'' has been in development since 1991, when it was announced to begin filming for a Christmas 1992 release. Since then, the project has been off-and-on in development. Most recently, there were plans to make it straight-to-DVD but not much is known yet.
* ''[[Revenge of the Nerds]]'': Fanboys director Kyle Newman was given the greenlight to direct a remake back in 2007, unfortunately the studio kept cutting the budget, and the only college in Georgia that would let them film was an all girls school, as the other colleges had previously had bad experiences with film crews. The studios also kept on making demands for things as trivial as the main characters wardrobe, then after the all girls school found out that the film was more "risque" then the crew had let on, they were kicked out and had no money left to finish the movie, so the studio pulled the plug on the remake and nothing has been heard ever since.
▲* For awhile, there was talk of a sequel to ''[[Spawn]]''; Michael Jai White even expressed interest in reprising his role, but as of now(2011), all plans for a sequel seem to have all but faded.
* A live-action film of ''[[Transmetropolitan]]'' has been been in the early proposal/planning stages for over a decade now; spearheaded by long-time fan [[Patrick Stewart]], who is the fan-favorite to play Spider Jerusalem. At one point, an animated version was proposed, with Steward voicing Jerusalem. Ellis and Robertson have indicated that they would like [[Tim Roth]] to play the title role; but as of this time, no production has started on any adaptation.
* It's possible the fourth ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'' film
* Around 2003, [[Robert Zemeckis]] was planning to remake the William Castle film ''Macabre'' for Dark Castle Entertainment (a company he co-founded with Joel Silver) at some point in between the productions of ''[[The Polar Express]]'' and ''[[Beowulf (film)|Beowulf]]''. After Zemeckis got heavily into motion capture, he abandoned the project and eventually left Dark Castle to start Imagemovers Digital. Nothing has been heard about the project since.
* A ''[[Gunnm|Battle Angel]]'' film with director James Cameron. On again off again with rumors as far back as the early 2000s including supposed casting calls for a lithe girl who could move like a cat ... then nothing. Then he said he was waiting for the technology to catch up to his vision. Then ''[[Avatar]]''. Is he even working on it still? Who knows.
Line 300 ⟶ 273:
** Ultimately, the project was sunk by the failure of ''[[Leatherheads]]'', which studios believed signified there was no money to be made in a movie about football in the 1920s. As the article mentions, ''Leatherheads'' was itself stuck in development hell until [[George Clooney]] stepped into the picture. Fleming's ESPN colleague Rick Reilly wrote the original screenplay in 1991... and it hit theaters in 2008. It's a point of contention between Fleming and Reilly as to who got the worse deal.
* A [[Robotech]] live action film was announced in 2008 by Harmony Gold and Warner Bros. A certain Tobey Maguire was said to be producing it. Also heavily hyped was the announcement that Lawrence Kasdan (yes the same one who wrote ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'', ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', and ''[[The Bodyguard]]'') had written a script. Things were looking up until the fans were informed that Mr. Kasdan's script was handed over to Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (writers of [[Smallville]] and ''Herbie Fully Loaded'') for a rewrite. The script was then handed to another writer named Tom Rob Smith for yet another rewrite. Just given the questionable sanity involved in not just going with a script by a lauded screenwriter (let alone entrusting it to a two mediocre writers and then one nobody to "rewrite") Robotech fans are no longer optimistic that this film will be worth seeing if it is ever made.
* At one point Paul Greengrass was
** ''Selma'', a film made by a different crew, was released in 2014.
* [[Witchblade]] was in development not too long ago.
* A 2012 adaptation of [[The Bell Jar]] by [[Sylvia Plath]] has been in the works since at least 2010; if not sooner. It's been pushed back repeatedly and IMDB has very little information that hasn't changed much in all this time. The only screen adaptation of the novel that's been released was back in the 1970s and the few people who've actually seen it will usually tell you that it's terrible, so maybe it's a good thing this will probably never be released.
* ''[[Jumanji]] 2'', which would have involved the Jumanji board, after being spotted in the ocean, uncovered by two girls from France, building on [[Sequel Hook|a scene at the end of the film]]. It was scrapped when Chris Van Allsburg wrote ''[[Zathura]]'' as a sequel to the book that inspired the movie, with the intent of making [[The Movie]] based on the book (which ironically is more of a [[Spiritual Successor]]).
|