Movies That Never Were

Posted by David in Movies & SciFi on November 29, 2008 at 8:33 am



“For every movie that gets made there are a hundred that never happen. And for every version of a movie you see in theaters, there are a dozen other versions that never made it past the script stage.” Thus begins an article that Devin Faraci has written at movie site CHUD, chronicling the rise and fall of versions of movies you probably didn’t even know existed. Among the theoretical films discussed? A Star Trek IV starring Eddie Murphy, a Planet of the Apes film directed by controversial helmer Oliver Stone, and the tantalizing possibility of an ultra-realistic Batman directed by the visionary Darren Aronofsky:

Aronofsky wasn’t interested in making anything that resembled a Batman film that had come before. He also wasn’t interested in hewing close to Miller’s original comics. This film saw Bruce Wayne wandering the streets after the murder of his parents; he’s taken in by an auto mechanic named Big Al (Aronofsky’s version of Alfred). Bruce grows up a borderline psychotic who begins taking violent vengeance on street thugs. He turns an abandoned subway station below Big Al’s auto shop into his version of the Batcave. He puts a bus engine in a black Lincoln Continental as his version of the Batmobile. Over the course of the story he assembles the elements of the costume and persona of Batman (or The Bat-Man, as he’s called).

This Batman is the reality of what a guy in a costume beating up criminals would be like – insane, overdramatic, barely likable.

Who among us hasn’t seen a movie and wondered what might have been? Have any similar thoughts? Think that some of these movies would have been better as the alternate versions described here? Feel free to discuss in the comments below.

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19 comments to "Movies That Never Were"

  1. Angstrom
    November 29th, 2008 at 9:35 am

    I love that version of Batman, of course it would be Batman obsessives who would prevent it being successful.

  2. liphttam1
    November 29th, 2008 at 10:00 am

    What about the halo 3 movie, the directer decided not to. I don't think it even make script.

  3. seekshelter
    November 29th, 2008 at 10:06 am

    ive always liked kevin smith stories about jon peters and his wacky ideas... last i heard, neil gaiman was actually going to be directing the sandman movie...that was a few months ago though. not sure whats happening with that now. i did read the original script, it was ok.. but little too action-y. totally missing the spirit of the comics. the best part of the sandman were the stories it told... there were even some issues where morpheus didnt even show up. i would actually like it better if they did it as an HBO series instead of a feature film.

  4. rageagainsttherobots
    November 29th, 2008 at 10:12 am

    Really interesting stuff. I think it would be cool if people on the internet could vote on studio movies and have a say on whether or not a movie is greenlit.

  5. MosselKots
    November 29th, 2008 at 10:49 am

    Anybody that would like this realistic version of batman I advise to buy "Arkham Asylum" by Dave mc Kean.

    Not only a very well written story about batman being lured into the asylum by the joker and allmost losing his own mind, but also one of the most beautifull "comics" I own..

  6. gtron
    November 29th, 2008 at 11:04 am

    I like the idea of crowd-sourcing the selection of what gets made...
    in 1993 I wrote a kid's movie (action adventure with cgi) that was part fantasy and involved the 'saving' of the Monarch butterflies"... it was tech-forward at the time, tech toys, the kids made cd-rom presentation for the school (pre-internet days)
    everyone who read it said it felt like they could 'see' the whole thing (and these are H-wood'ers with experience in script reading) and my Mom STILL cannot believe it didn't get made...
    the problems are multitude - you need to have the RIGHT literary agent read and like it AND be ready to act on it (and if you are not published that can be VERY tough to find), and the right actors' agents looking for a vehicle, and the right studio ready to go that way... etc. and if it isn't coordinated by a bolt of luck/lightning, then it goes into the vault with TONS of others...
    the system is too huge - if it's not the rights to a popular book, or someone with power is not attached, forget it - and there are LOTS of stories of H-wood big hitters not getting anywhere with good projects...
    there is more luck to it than talent
    I could tweak my script toward more present day technology, and make the kids more cynical, and it would still work... but they say you don't flog a dead horse...

  7. Johnny Cat
    November 29th, 2008 at 11:29 am

    I wish the version of Dune described here would have made the cut. I too have never been crazy abot Lynch's version. HR Giger designing Geidi Prime? Awesome.

  8. Edward
    November 29th, 2008 at 11:34 am

    A friend was a movie producer half a decade ago. The goal back then, it appeared, was to present an idea to investors that would get them to pony up money. When there was not enough, the producer would attached a new star or director to get new investors while trying to keep the old ones in tow. When they had enough scratch, a movie would get made that would satisfy the cascaded commitments and hopefully not look like crap. Can you think of any other reason to have a meeting between Axel Foley and Spock?

  9. seekshelter
    November 29th, 2008 at 11:36 am

    how could you not like lynch's version?? they were milking cats!! how often do you see that in a movie?

  10. biltmore
    November 29th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    Darren Aronofsky's Batman would've been awesome. It's a shame that it never got made.

  11. CheeseDuck
    November 29th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    The Legend of Zelda movie never was.

  12. CKS2996
    November 29th, 2008 at 1:51 pm

    How about the Styx album Mr. Roboto, it could have been made into a movie, but wasn't.

    Some Prog Rock albums could be made into short films, since a lot of them wore concept albums that told a story.

  13. Woogie
    November 29th, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    I used to be a regular reader of CHUD, but Devin is just a douchebag.

  14. Ali S.
    November 29th, 2008 at 3:40 pm

    How about a true Alien vs. Predator movie? Not that hogwash that focused on people getting attacked but a true brawl between the two toughest aliens to have hit Earth?

  15. Becca
    November 29th, 2008 at 5:10 pm

    Yeah I want to see the alternate version of batman.. it sounds amazing! It's a shame it wasn't made..

  16. seekshelter
    November 29th, 2008 at 7:45 pm

    not a remake... but ive always wanted a sequel to napoleon dynamite where napoleon and pedro are trying to solve a mystery...

  17. seekshelter
    November 29th, 2008 at 7:47 pm

    or better yet... how about a remake of reservoir dogs with the cast of high school musical...

  18. seekshelter
    November 29th, 2008 at 7:50 pm

    uhgghhh... at this moment.im actually watching that Hulk redo... i think i much prefer the ang lee version... so far, nothing has compared to that tank throwing scene...and the fact that he cant have sex really irritates me...

  19. DOJ
    November 29th, 2008 at 9:53 pm

    I'm currently rereading The Sandman, and I'm not sure I'd trust anyone to get the movie right.


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