When we see a super production, we don’t imagine the work that goes into making the project a reality. Many times, even before the script is ready, the initial idea is the motivation for generating a work. In other words, first you need to have the outline and then write the script based on that idea – the most varied treatments that a script can have. Only to then begin the other stages of pre-production, filming and finalizing the film. And just think, during all these stages the original concept can undergo drastic changes, completely changing a film and transforming it into something completely different.
This introduction is to emphasize that perhaps greater than the number of films existing in the world, there are films that were thought of, often worked on, but never completed. In other words, films that were produced at the most varied levels of development, but that never came to fruition for numerous reasons. Below we will discover some of Hollywood’s most famous urban legends, that is, the films designed and never produced. Check it out below.
Hollywood’s most famous never-produced film, ‘Superman Lives‘ has become an urban legend within the largest film industry in the world. The film that would have Nicolas Cage like Man of Steel and would be directed by Tim Burtonwould be successful in the films of ‘Batman‘ in the 90s, and even had the actor doing costume tests (the photos with Cage wearing the actor’s uniform have been circulating online for some time). The plot would have Brainiac as the villain and the final battle would see the hero facing a giant metallic spider, a requirement from the producer Jon Peters. This idea ended up in ‘The Mad Adventures of James West‘ (1999).
Another very famous Hollywood film that never happened was the version of ‘Beverly Hills Cop‘ originally planned, which would have Sylvester Stallone as the protagonist. At this time, it is clear that the film would have much less humor and would be much more focused on police action. The main idea would be the same, of a tough police officer from a tough city, ending up in luxurious Beverly Hills. With the entry of Eddie Murphy, the film took on much more comical contours. AND Stallone two years later would take many of the concepts from his version of the film to ‘Snake‘ (1986).
Speaking of Eddie Murphythe eternal ‘Heavy Duty‘ almost starred in an action film in the second half of the 90s that was compared to a mix between ‘Hard to kill‘ It is ‘Total Risk‘. The plot is described as being very close to ‘The Last Threat’from 1996, taking place in post-Gulf War Iraq. Murphy would play a former military mine specialist, helping a group of marines to stop a team of renegade green berets searching for lost nuclear warheads in the desert. As if that weren’t enough, you would have to face a sandstorm – which is the allusion to the film’s title “sandblast” – making the film both an action film and a “catastrophe” film.
After Murphy left the project due to scheduling conflicts, Wesley Snipes was cast in his place to star. To top off what would be a true 90s action epic, Jean-Claude Van Damme was targeted by producers to fill the role of the villain. It would be a clash of the titans to see Snipes It is Van Damme confronting each other at the height of both. Unfortunately this version of the film would never see the light of day either, because Van Damme, one of the greatest heroes of the period, the negotiations did not progress. The actor did not want to play the villain at that point in his career (only accepting such types of characters now, in middle age). Besides that, Snipes came from a series of box office failures, which left producers fearful about its viability as the protagonist of a super production.
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Coming back to Eddie Murphy, the actor had targeted the project because at the time he wanted to make a more serious action film with more dramatic appeal. When ‘Sandblast‘it didn’t go ahead, he signed for the film’The Negotiator‘, released in 1997. According Murphynone of his films, nor ‘Beverly Hills Cop‘ and either ‘48 Hours‘, they had given him the opportunity to perform intensely like this.
Sylvester Stallone He was the star of some big hits from the now-defunct producer of the 80s and 90s, Carolco. It was with the producer that the actor had great hits such as ‘Rambo 2‘ It is ‘Total Risk’. However, before the snow-climbing rescue film began production, Stallone signed on to star in another project alongside the studio. The film would be known as ‘Isobar‘, and it was futuristic science fiction with touches of horror. It wouldn’t have been great to see a film of this genre in the early 90s with Sly?
The overproduction (for the time) would cost the studio US$90 million (budget for major works of the period). The plot would talk about a genetically created monster, who escapes and becomes free inside a runaway high-speed train. In charge of production, the hired filmmaker was Roland Emmerichknown for blockbusters like ‘Independence Day‘ It is ‘The day after tomorrow‘. Although, Emmerich and the film’s producer Joel Silver They began to fight over the script and control of the film, a fight that still included the people at Carolco. So, the director left the project and went to do ‘Universal Soldier‘, causing the cancellation of ‘Isobar‘.
Following the canceled projects of Sylvester Stallonenow arrives at the list ‘Gale Force‘. This would be the film that Sly would amend after the cancellation of ‘Isobar‘. As stated, after the science fiction horror came to nothing, Carolco rearranged both Roland Emmerich It is Stallone in other productions. While Emmerich did better entering what would become ‘Universal Soldier‘, a feature that actually succeeded, Stallone went to ‘Gale Force‘. And have you heard of this film? No? It’s because, once again, he “died on the beach”.
This is another project that makes me sad that it was never produced, as it would have been really cool. Check out the synopsis of the supposed film: Stallone would face modern pirates during a huge hurricane. We want it yesterday! The film would be an action thriller and the director would be none other than Renny Harlinfollowing the success of ‘Die Hard 2‘. As the project fell apart, pardon the pun, Stallone It is Harlin went to do ‘Total Risk‘ for Carolco, that’s a film that got off the ground.
Ending the epic Sylvester Stallone next to Carolco. Before ‘Total Risk‘ and even before ‘Isobar’ and ‘Gale Force’ failed to come to fruition, the project that the studio had thought of for the actor followed the success of ‘Rambo 2‘ it was a comedy! The idea was to have Stallone starring alongside the late John Candyone of the biggest names in comedy in Hollywood in the 80s. And not only that, the film was directed by none other than the midas of teen comedies at the time, John Hughes – with whom Candy he did ‘Better Alone than Badly Accompanied‘ It is ‘Who Sees Face Doesn’t See Heart‘ (1989).
The plot would revolve around two neighbors who start a competition, which turns into a fight and grows like a snowball. The film would precede the comedies of Stallone period and could have given a positive turn to the actor’s career in relation to the genre, as what would come for him in this sense would be box office failures (‘Oscar – My Daughter Wants to Get Married) and criticism (‘Stop! Otherwise Mom Shoots‘). Already the missed Candy He would die in the mid-90s, in 1994.
‘The other face‘ (1997) is one of the most iconic action films of the 90s, highly adored by fans. But like most projects, what we see on screen was not the initial idea. In cases like these, the result was better than the original idea. Written in 1990, the project was created by Joel Silver (one of the biggest producers of the 80s and 90s). However, he ended up falling into the lap of michael douglas a while later. The writers had plans for Douglas to star in the film alongside Harrison Ford as the main characters – which wouldn’t be bad either.
Although, michael douglas decided to serve only as producer of the film instead of acting in it. So, police and criminals began to exchange faces behind the scenes. Two big names were needed to headline, and one of the most interesting pairings would be Arnold Schwarzenegger It is Sylvester Stallone. Have you thought? It would be the joy of many. When the director John Woo was brought into command, the duo left the project. Other duos that the studio considered were Bruce Willis It is Alec Baldwin (who went on to star in ‘Code to Hell‘, 1998); Jean-Claude Van Damme It is Steve Seagal (one of the great rivalries of the time off-screen too); Denzel Washington It is Wesley Snipes; and even Robert De Niro It is Al Pacino. As we know, the result had John Travolta It is Nicolas Cage as protagonists.
