History is littered by planned sequels, remakes, reboots, and assorted other adaptations that never made it out of development hell, but it’s a great deal more frustrating when projects are officially announced (and occasionally even given a release date), only to fall by the wayside and never make it to the big screen.
Jerry Bruckheimer recently resurrected the National Treasure 3 speculation by revealing a script would be on its way to Nicolas Cage shortly, a surprising turn of events when the leading man himself admitted that the opportunity had probably passed by a full 15 years after Book of Secrets.
That just goes to show that long-dormant blockbusters can be brought back to life eventually, but film fans on Reddit have been lamenting the confirmed features they never got to see, and it makes for hugely wistful reading.
Guillermo del Toro’s At the Mountains of Madness had James Cameron attached to produce and Tom Cruise in talks for the lead role before collapsing, which has got to be one of the biggest missed opportunities imaginable given their status as respective cinematic heavyweights. Similarly, Marvel Cinematic Universe supporters have plenty of theories as to why Kevin Feige keeps giving the Inhumans the shaft, after their planned theatrical introduction was nixed in spite of having a locked-in release date.
David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises 2, Mark Wahlberg’s sequel to a remake The Brazilian Job, Neil Blomkamp’s Halo, Thomas Jane’s second outing as the Punisher, and Ben Affleck’s The Batman were all in active development at one stage or another before crumbling into dust, and at this stage there’s virtually no chance any of them will ever see the light of day.
