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[-[[caption-width-right:229:Aagh, the anticipation is killing me![[note]][[http://www.hrwiki.org/wiki/Dangeresque_3:_The_Criminal_Projective November 2008,]] [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell ultimately]].[[/note]]]]-]
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->''"Fundamentally, what went wrong was that the system was delayed, delayed, and delayed further, until finally it was delayed again, and subsequently delayed, before its final delay happened, before its ''eventual'' delayed release."''
-->-- '''WebVideo/TechnologyConnections''', on the RCA {{Platform/CED}} Videodisk format.

The state where an announced creative project becomes stuck in limbo at the creation stage for years.

The term originates in the film industry, referring to films mired in pre-production without casting or production ever beginning. A common occurrence with [[TheFilmOfTheBook book adaptations]] and other licensed materials, as [[ScrewedByTheLawyers legal squabbles over rights]], ExecutiveMeddling, [[NoBudget budgetary problems]], and [[CreativeDifferences differing artistic visions]] keep the project from going before the cameras. And even if it does make it to the shooting stage, a TroubledProduction can easily derail it and throw it right back here.

Films stuck in Development Hell are called Vaporfilm. The {{Video Game|s}} equivalent of this is {{Vaporware}}.

Development Hell becomes a sort of self-reinforcing feedback loop over time--as one director gets fed up and quits, the project is assigned to a new director, who orders a new screenplay with a new vision, which results in producers demanding changes, hiring a script doctor for rewrites: wash, rinse, repeat etc.

Projects in other media can sink into similar cesspits, with a well-known music example being Guns 'N Roses' lengthy delays on ''Chinese Democracy''. Sometimes examples of this trope lead into cases of WhatCouldHaveBeen or TrailerDelay. If the team behind the medium is frustrated enough, it can result in ImplementingTheIncomplete.

TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment is a variation where a finished work gets stuck in release limbo.

Compare to ExtremelyLengthyCreation, where a work did take a long time to come to fruition, but with no notable problems involved.

For those examples which ''finally'' became real, after years, or decades in some cases, look at SavedFromDevelopmentHell.

Website/TheOtherWiki has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_hell an entry]] about Development Hell, with a list of films that are either in Development Hell or once were.

If you're looking for a breather from this page, we suggest visiting SugarWiki/DevelopmentHeaven.
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!!Example sub-pages:
[[index]]
* UnproducedScripts (multiple mediums)
* DevelopmentHell/AnimeAndManga
* [[DevelopmentHell/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
** DevelopmentHell/DisneyAndPixar
* [[DevelopmentHell/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
** DevelopmentHell/ComicBookAdaptations
* DevelopmentHell/LiveActionTV
* {{DevelopmentHell/Music}}
* [[{{Vaporware}} Software]]
** [[CanceledVideoGames Video Games]]
* DevelopmentHell/WesternAnimation
* DevelopmentHell/OtherMedia
* DevelopmentHell/RealLife
[[/index]]
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