For every movie that graces our screens, many others never see the light of day. Filmmaking is a complex process, and numerous projects stall due to financial problems or disagreements between creative minds. Here are some fascinating sci-fi and fantasy movies that were canceled—some had amazing potential, while others were better left untouched.
10. Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek
Quentin Tarantino considered making a Star Trek film in 2017, envisioning it as “Pulp Fiction in space.” His idea drew from the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “A Piece of the Action,” set on a planet resembling Earth with a 1920s gang culture.
Tarantino presented his idea to Star Trek producer J.J. Abrams, who liked it enough to gather a writers’ room. Mark L. Smith, the screenwriter for The Revenant (2015), teamed up with Tarantino. Smith mentioned the plot would involve “a little time travel stuff going on” and have “a lot of fun” with Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk.
Tarantino also wanted the film to be R-rated, a first for the Star Trek franchise. However, by the end of 2019, he announced his departure from the project, without specifying his reasons.
9. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4
Sam Raimi intended Spider-Man 4 to be a satisfying conclusion to his series. “I was very unhappy with Spider-Man 3, and I wanted to make Spider-Man 4 to end on a very high note,” Raimi said in 2013. He left the project because “we had a deadline, and I couldn’t get the story to work on a level that I wanted it to work.” Sony was developing a reboot alongside his film, which became The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) starring Andrew Garfield.
John Malkovich was cast as the Vulture, the main villain in Raimi’s fourth movie. Anne Hathaway was set to play Felicia Hardy, Peter Parker’s new love interest, who would become the Vulturess. Concept art also revealed that Mysterio would appear. Recently, there have been rumors about the project possibly being revived.
8. Batman Unchained (aka Batman Triumphant)
After the negative reviews of Batman & Robin (1997), director Joel Schumacher aimed for a darker tone in the sequel. “I felt I disappointed a lot of older fans by being too conscious of the family aspect,” he told Variety in 1997. “I’d gotten tens of thousands of letters from parents asking for a film their children could go to. Now, I owe the hardcore fans the Batman movie they would love me to give them.”
Batman Unchained (also known as Batman Triumphant) would have featured Scarecrow and Harley Quinn teaming up against Batman. Schumacher recalled, “I remember going to the set of Face/Off and asking Nic Cage to play the Scarecrow.” Batman would also hallucinate his past enemies, with cameos planned for Danny DeVito as the Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face, Jim Carrey as the Riddler, and Jack Nicholson as the Joker.
However, the poor reception of Batman & Robin led to the movie’s cancellation. Warner Bros. explored other directions, including Clint Eastwood as an older Batman, but none materialized until Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins in 2005.
7. David Fincher’s Rendezvous with Rama
Director David Fincher and actor Morgan Freeman spent years attempting to adapt Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama (1973), about a massive alien spaceship entering our solar system. Fincher began working on it in 2000, but by 2008, he admitted it was unlikely to happen, though hope remained.
In 2011, Fincher stated, “The question was can we get a script that’s worthy of Morgan and can we get a script that is worthy of Arthur Clark and can we do all of that in an envelope that will allow the movie to take the kinds of chances that it wants to take.”
Despite their passion, that version is canceled. However, a new version is in development, with Denis Villeneuve as director and Freeman still on the production team.
6. David Cronenberg’s Total Recall
Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall (1990), based on Philip K. Dick’s “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” (1966), is a sci-fi action film. However, with David Cronenberg directing, it would have been much darker. Producer Ronald Shusett worked with Dan O’Bannon, writer of Alien (1979), on a script before bringing in Cronenberg to write and direct.
Cronenberg created twelve versions of the script, but his vision clashed with Shusett’s. Cronenberg stated that Shusett wanted the film to be like “Raiders of the Lost Ark goes to Mars,” leading Cronenberg to quit. He still influenced the film, creating the character that became Kuato, the psychic mutant fused to his brother’s abdomen.
5. Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune
Alejandro Jodorowsky’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune (1965) is a famous unmade sci-fi film. Known for his surreal films, Jodorowsky was offered full financial backing by producer Michel Seydoux. Jodorowsky chose Dune but made big changes to the story, with Paul Atreides becoming a sentient planet.
Writer Dan O’Bannon and artist H.R. Giger, who worked on Alien, were involved. Jodorowsky cast his son as Paul, and Salvador Dalí was to play the Padishah Emperor. Pink Floyd was selected to create the music. Studio executives balked at the inflating cost and Jodorowsky’s plan for a 10 to 12-hour runtime.
4. Ghostbusters III: Hellbent
Dan Aykroyd spent years trying to make his idea for Ghostbusters III, subtitled Hellbent, a reality. Based on a story by Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, the film was set in Manhellton, an alternate version of Manhattan, where the Ghostbusters would battle the devil with a new, younger team.
In 1999, Aykroyd said the movie struggled because “the cost is too excessive for the studio to see it to be economically feasible. It is a shame, too, because everyone wants to do it. Even Bill Murray said he would work a few days on it.”
By 2007, Aykroyd was hopeful, stating that CGI and animation could bring down costs. Ramis hoped Ben Stiller would play one of the new Ghostbusters.
Although the movie never happened, Aykroyd called Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009), which sees the team in a dimension called the Ghost World, “essentially the third movie.”
3. George Lucas’s Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
In The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005, George Lucas shared his idea for the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Set soon after the original trilogy, the films would show “how Leia…is trying to rebuild the Republic… Luke is trying to restart the Jedi.”
Darth Maul would become “the godfather of crime in the universe because, as the Empire falls, he takes over.” Maul’s apprentice, Darth Talon from the comic books, would also be a villain. Lucas didn’t pursue the project because his daughter was about to be born, and he “decided I’d rather raise my daughter and enjoy life for a while.”
2. Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian
Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, written by Jonathan Gem, involved the Deetz family moving to Hawaii to build a resort on an ancient burial ground. Warner Bros. preferred Tim Burton to direct a sequel to Batman (1989) instead.
The project was shelved, and by 1997, Gem considered it dead, stating, “Winona [Ryder] is too old for the role, and the only way they could make it would be to totally recast it.” In 2013, there were rumors, with Ryder saying “it sounds like it might be happening” and “I would be really interested in what she is doing 27 years later.”
Production on the sequel is underway, but the Hawaiian concept is unknown. The film’s working title is “Blue Hawaii,” which hints at the original concept.
1. Superman Lives
In 1996, Warner Bros. offered Kevin Smith script-rewriting jobs, including Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, which he declined. He chose Superman Reborn, later retitled Superman Lives. Producer Jon Peters had requirements: no classic blue, red, and yellow suit, no flying, and a fight with a giant spider.
Nicholas Cage was cast as Superman, and Tim Burton was hired to direct. The script faltered, and in 1998, Warner Bros. shelved the project until “such a time as the budget is appropriate and the script realizes its potential.” A CGI Nic Cage as Superman fighting a spider appeared in The Flash (2023).
These unmade films offer a glimpse into the unpredictable world of filmmaking. From Tarantino’s unique take on Star Trek to the bizarre demands of Superman Lives, what could have been is sometimes more intriguing than what actually is.
Which of these cancelled movies would you have most liked to see? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
