History DevelopmentHell / LiveActionFilms

* ''Film/{{Phantasm}}'' series, yet another horror franchise with a sequel stuck in DevelopmentHell. The fifth (and supposedly final) film was announced as having been completed in March 2014, but no release date was given at the time.

* In the early 2010s [[https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/50835/pin-remake-finally-moving/ there were talks]] of a remake of the cult classic Canadian 1988 horror film ''Film/{{Pin}}'', but nothing more was heard about it since then.

* In 2010, Creator/StevenSpielberg signed on to direct a film adaptation of ''Literature/{{Robopocalypse}}'', with Drew Goddard writing the screenplay. Speilberg's studio, Creator/DreamWorks, was set to finish the film for a 2013 release by Creator/TouchstonePictures (owned by Creator/{{Disney}}) domestically, then it was bumped to 2014 after financial issues at [=DreamWorks=] plagued the project and led to Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox jumping on board. Then, [=DreamWorks=] announced the film had been shelved indefinitely thanks to script disagreements and continuing financial strives. Now, with [=DreamWorks=]' deal with Disney expiring and moving to Creator/{{Universal}} in 2016, and major restructuring at [=DreamWorks=], the project may finally be coming off the ground. Ironically enough, Disney is now back on board thanks to buying Fox.

** Creator/{{Dreamworks}} was going to make a ''[[Literature/NomesTrilogy Bromeliad]]'' film. Where'd that go?

** The live-action film seemed to be back on track, as Universal [[http://variety.com/2015/film/news/monster-high-director-ari-sandel-1201623306/ recurited]] Ari Sandel (''Film/TheDuff'') to direct and set it for an October 2016 release. However, with Creator/DreamWorks jumping ship from Disney to Universal that year, its release date was snubbed in favor of [=DreamWorks=]' ''The Girl on the Train''. No new release date has been announced since then.

* ''Franchise/{{Barbie}}'' went through several attempts at a live-action movie adaptation. The earliest effort was in 1986 when Creator/TheCannonGroup planned to produce such a film, but was scrapped following the poor reception of their ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'' movie. Nearly 30 years later, Sony announced plans to adapt ''Barbie'' on the silver screen, with Creator/AmySchumer in talks to play the title role, but she dropped out and Creator/AnneHathaway was drafted. Creator/DiabloCody was set to write before leaving due to scheduling conflicts with ''Film/{{Tully}}''. Even after Cody left, Sony still earmarked the film for a 2020 release, but Sony's option for the franchise expired and Mattel decided to set up its own movie unit. Mattel finally worked out a deal with Creator/WarnerBros, and in 2022 it went into production for a summer 2023 release, with Creator/GretaGerwig directing, Creator/MargotRobbie as Barbie and Creator/RyanGosling as Ken, though apparently Sony's concepts were passed up in favor a new script (written by Gerwig and Creator/NoahBaumbach).

* A relatively obscure 1973 novel called ''The Yellow Jersey'' went through [[https://www.podiumcafe.com/book-corner/2015/10/4/9448769/the-curse-of-the-yellow-jersey-the-cycling-film-hollywood-loved-but a crazy three decade rollercoaster ride in Hollywood]]. A story about an aging cyclist who unexpectedly finds himself contending for a victory in the UsefulNotes/TourDeFrance, while also coaching a younger cyclist and getting involved in a LoveDodecahedron, an adaptation was put into development by Creator/ColumbiaPictures shortly after the novel was published. By 1975, Creator/MichaelCimino was attached to direct, and visited the Tour to start the research phase, but he got tied up with ''Film/TheDeerHunter''. In the meantime, Columbia dropped out, and it passed through several other studios, including Creator/UniversalPictures and Creator/ITCEntertainment. A number of big names had been offered the lead role, including Creator/SteveMcQueenActor and Creator/SylvesterStallone, but said no. Oddly, it ended up back at Columbia in 1983, with a fairly solid package of talent penciled in to participate. Creator/DustinHoffman--fresh off ''Film/{{Tootsie}}''--was going to play the lead role, veteran producer Carl Foreman would be in charge, ''Film/ChariotsOfFire'' screenwriter Colin Welland would do the script, and Cimino (who, as mentioned above, had DevelopmentHell experience with ''Literature/TheFountainhead''), wanting to redeem his career after the ''Film/HeavensGate'' fiasco, was still interested in directing. But they ran up against the tricky logistics of actually filming at the tour. Cimino's initial idea was to have Hoffman participate in the RealLife race, which was soundly rejected. By 1986 it all fell apart. Foreman had died, then Cimino quit, followed by Hoffman, and Columbia pulled out for a second time. The producers then signed with Creator/TheCannonGroup, who touted Creator/RobertDeNiro and Creator/HarrisonFord as possible stars, and began filming second-unit footage even without a director. Creator/MickeyRourke signed on to star, then quit two days later. Cannon dropped out, but the producers kept it on life support for the next decade, now as a possible vehicle for Creator/TomCruise or Creator/KevinCostner, before finally giving up. An odd postscript is that Hoffman ended up appearing in a film about the Tour de France anyway--''Film/TheProgram2015''.

* Creator/MichaelCimino spent much of the '70s and '80s trying to make ''Literature/TheFountainhead'' into a film, with Creator/ClintEastwood playing Howard Roark. Then ''Film/HeavensGate'' happened.

** Pratchett was fond of citing an early aborted interaction with a major American producer - [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial who he publicly denied was Disney]] - who assured him that they were absolutely in love with ''Literature/{{Mort}}'' and really wanted to do the movie of the novel - but considered Americans would have a problem relating to [[TheGrimReaper Death]] as the star of a feelgood movie, so we're gonna have to write the character out. Pratchett said this was when he started to get ''cynical'' about proposed big-screen versions of his novels.

[[/folder]]

* A film adaptation of ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'' was announced to be in the works in 2016 with Adam [=McKay=] (''Film/{{Vice}}'', ''Film/TheBigShort'') set to direct. As of 2019, no other news of progress has come out. Some wonder if ''Film/{{Brightburn}}'', a SpiritualAdaptation of sorts as both stories serve as a deconstruction of Superman, might've put it on hold.

* It's possible the fourth ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' film will enter this, [[http://www.aslanscountry.com/2011/10/gresham-confirms-waldens-contract-expired/ as the contract of production company Walden Media with the]] Creator/CSLewis' estate expired. The Mark Gordon Company [[http://www.deadline.com/2013/10/chronicles-of-narnia-silver-chair-movie-mark-gordon/ acquired them]], but their adaptation of ''Literature/TheSilverChair'' still couldn't come out. Netflix has since acquired the rights and announced a whole new slew of adaptations, [[https://screenrant.com/chronicles-narnia-producer-no-netflix-update-episodic-reboot/ but even those need confirmation.]]

* A film based on ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' was announced in early 2014. That October, Vu Bui stated that it wouldn't be completed until 2018; It was scheduled for a 2019 release that never happened. The movie has had several directors drop out of the project and [[DiedDuringProduction had its producer, Jill Messick, commit suicide]] (thus being the final movie she worked on). On April 16, 2019, the ''Minecraft'' staff announced that the movie would be released on March 4, 2022, stating that it would take such a long time because "making a live-action, full-length feature film is really complicated." But then that release date was pulled from the schedule soon after, and there hasn’t been an update until over a month after the originally planned release date, when it was announced that Creator/JasonMomoa would star in the movie, and that Jared Hess of ''Film/NapoleonDynamite'' would direct the film.

* A sequel to ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'' was announced four months ''before'' the film's release. Presumably thanks to the film not performing as strongly as the studio had hoped, nothing new has come out since. Co-star Creator/JusticeSmith has stated in interviews that he's not sure whether or not the sequel is moving forward, and conflicts between Creator/WarnerBros and franchise film rights holder Legendary Pictures have only further clouded prospects.

* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys1'' was announced to be getting a film adaptation at New Line Cinema in 2015. Two years later, New Line canceled the film and placed it into turnaround due to ExecutiveMeddling causing the budget to rapidly increase after the staff was forced to restart from scratch. Blumhouse then bought the rights shortly thereafter, and Creator/ChrisColumbus is attached to direct, write and co-produce. As of April 2023, it has now been officially SavedFromDevelopmentHell (sans Colombus as director and writer) and is in production for an October 27, 2023 release.

* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys1'' was announced to be getting a film adaptation at New Line Cinema in 2015. Two years later, New Line canceled the film and placed it into turnaround due to ExecutiveMeddling causing the budget to rapidly increase after the staff was forced to restart from scratch. Blumhouse then bought the rights shortly thereafter, and Creator/ChrisColumbus is attached to direct, write and co-produce.

* Development of the third ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes'' has been long delayed due to issues on the business side. Producer Joel Silver left the series's distributor, Creator/WarnerBrothers, for Creator/{{Universal}} after the second film's release in 2011. WB wasn't happy that the film underperformed at the box office with two expensive but bankable stars in Creator/RobertDowneyJr and Creator/JudeLaw but Silver blamed it, in part, on what he saw as poor marketing on WB's end. Also throwing a wrench in the process are Downey and Law's starring commitments to more lucrative franchises (the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse and ''Film/FantasticBeasts'' respectively) that's made it hard to get the two of them in the same place at the same time. Although progress has been made in getting it off the ground and it was given a December 2021 release (which it still technically has), it was delayed again by about a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with production hoping to start in 2022.

* At the San Diego Comic-Con 2011 director Creator/RobertRodriguez stated that he intends for ''Film/{{Machete}}'' to become a trilogy. The 2013-sequel, ''Film/MacheteKills'' even includes a fake trailer for ''[[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace Machete Kills Again... In Space'' and ends with a SequelHook that sends the titular hero in fact into space. However, the intended threequel till date never came to be, while both fans and even main actor Creator/DannyTrejo campaign hard to make it happen. Other than vague updates by both Trejo and Rodriguez about working to make it happen, nothing new is coming out from that movie till date.

* At the San Diego Comic-Con 2011 director Creator/RobertRodriquez stated that he intends for ''Film/{{Machete}}'' to become a trilogy. The 2013-sequel, ''Film/MacheteKills'' even includes a fake trailer for ''[[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace Machete Kills Again... In Space'' and ends with a SequelHook that sends the titular hero in fact into space. However, the intended threequel till date never came to be, while both fans and even main actor Creator/DannyTrejo campaign hard to make it happen. Other than vague updates by both Trejo and Rodriguez about working to make it happen, nothing new is coming out from that movie till date.

* The sixth ''Franchise/DieHard'' film. Initially titled ''Die Hardest'' and intended to be the GrandFinale to the series, the critical drubbing and underperforming box office of ''Film/AGoodDayToDieHard'' was a likely cause of the film being placed on the backburner. It resurfaced a few years later with the title ''[=McClane=]'', with a new plot that would cut between the present day and protagonist John [=McClane=]'s first year as a police officer. Pre-production hit a major snag with Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, and the failure of ''Film/DarkPhoenix'' in 2019 caused Disney to cancel many of Fox's upcoming and in-development films, with ''[=McClane=]'' [[https://entertainment.ie/cinema/movie-news/die-hard-prequel-cancelled-fox-413559/ reportedly among the casualties]].

* A film adaptation of ''{{ComicStrip/Dilbert}}'' has been attempted by creator Scott Adams for years. His most recent efforts date back to at least 2014, where he has kept updates on his writing efforts on his personal blog. Sadly, such efforts may never get past the screenplay level.

** A solo Batman movie, which would star Creator/BenAffleck as the titular character and Creator/JoeManganiello as Deathstroke, was planned to be released in 2020. Zack Snyder shot a lead-in for the project as the post-credits scene of ''Justice League'', which featured Comicbook/LexLuthor hiring Deathstroke to take down Batman. However, following the massive creative rewrites within the franchise after ''JL'', the project kept continuously getting delayed, not helped by the fact that Affleck gave [[FlipFlopOfGod seemingly contradictory statements]] in interviews about whether or not he was still playing Batman. In 2017, Creator/MattReeves took over as director and discarded the script that Affleck co-wrote with Creator/ChrisTerrio and Creator/GeoffJohns. The film eventually morphed into ''Film/{{The Batman|2022}}'', a standalone film that has no connection with the DCEU whatsoever, starring Creator/RobertPattinson as Batman instead of Affleck. As of now, there's no word whether Warner Bros. is still working on their original plans, as ''The Batman'' ended up being a critical and commercial success, and WB's current plans seem intent to capitalize on that instead of DCEU Batman.

* Plans for a trilogy based on ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' produced by Larry Kasanoff (the same man responsible for unleashing ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Foodfight}}'' onto the world) were announced in 2016, but nothing has come of the project since. However, another ''Tetris'' movie [[https://screenrant.com/tetris-movie-taron-egerton-cast-story-details/ was announced in the meantime]]... about the legal battles over the rights to the game.

* In 2006, producer Boris Acosta began an ambitious task of adapting Creator/DanteAlighieri's ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'' into various mediums, including a live-action film trilogy, which was first announced back in August 2008. An all-star team was assembled, with Dante scholar Dino Di Durante writing the scripts, Armand Mastroianni as director, Chuck Shuman as the cinematographer and Aldo De Tata as composer. Creator/AndyGarcia, Creator/AdrienBrody and Creator/JimCaviezel were all considered to portray Dante, with Creator/AlPacino in the running for Virgil. The trilogy was set to be released between 2009 and 2012. However, during pre-production of the first film, ''Inferno'', Acosta realized that its proposed $55 million budget was too expensive and decided to produce lower-budgeted films to help fund the live-action films, as well as an animated film trilogy. He has since produced and/or directed documentaries about ''The Divine Comedy'', a short film based on ''Inferno'', as well as a 9-season television premiering in July 2020. The live-action films are still in development as of 2022.

* The ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' live-action film has been this for a long time, with Creator/WarnerBros acquiring the rights back in ''2002'', and more and more prospective producers passing on the project (Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio was once attached). Every other hot young actor in Hollywood has been considered for roles in the movie (notably, Creator/JosephGordonLevitt, Creator/ChrisEvans, Creator/GarrettHedlund, and Creator/KristenStewart). Jaume Collett-Serra (''Film/{{House of Wax|2005}}'', ''Film/JungleCruise'') was once attached to direct before the project was halted over budget concerns. Creator/GeorgeMiller has confirmed that he turned down an offer to direct. Currently, Creator/WarnerBros has Marco Ramirez (Creator/{{Netflix}}'s ''Series/{{Daredevil}}'') attached to write with Creator/ChristopherNolan possibly involved in some way, and Creator/JustinLin, David Sandberg (''Film/LightsOut''), Creator/JordanPeele, and Creator/TaikaWaititi all in talks to direct, with the latter expressing the most interest. The film suffered yet another setback in July 2019 when negotiations with Waititi broke down over casting disputes (Waititi wanted lesser-known Asian actors playing the characters, while Warner Bros. pushed for [[StuntCasting big-name actors]]), resulting in Waititi signing on for ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' and the film losing its planned 2021 release date. In an [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2019-10-19/taika-waititi-comments-briefly-on-status-of-live-action-akira-film/.152411 October 2019 interview]], Waititi said the film was still going to be made, but it would need to wait until production on ''Love and Thunder'' wraps.

* A fifth ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' movie is much rumored by Spielberg, Lucas, Ford and [=LaBeouf=]. Considering that the fourth film was in DevelopmentHell for nineteen years and that [=LucasFilm=] is occupied with ''Franchise/StarWars'', it's hard to say if anything will come of the fifth film.
** With the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, the ''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy is out of here (with Disney hot to produce some new films, and the merchandising that goes with them), and they have been talking about more films after those three, at a steady clip (every 2-3 years) into the indefinite future, which makes it harder to fit an ''Indiana Jones'' sequel in.
** A fifth film can be made without Paramount's involvement ([[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-takes-control-indiana-jones-663704 Disney has purchased Paramount's distribution rights to future sequels]]), and it had been confirmed for 2021, with Spielberg, Ford, and ''[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull Crystal Skull]]'' writer David Koepp returning. But it has been confirmed to be the last, at least with Creator/HarrisonFord. And then Spielberg had to drop out (Creator/JamesMangold took over), and the film was among the projects delayed by the COVID-19 epidemic.

* [[http://www.stories-llc.com/wp-content/uploads/Circle-of-Confusion-STORIES-Press-Release-12012016-.pdf This document]] details how there were projects to turn several Creator/{{Sega}} properties including ''VideoGame/AlteredBeast'', ''VideoGame/GoldenAxe'' and ''VideoGame/{{Shinobi}}'' into "feature films and television series for worldwide releases". None of them ever got off the ground. Come 2022, however, and bolstered by the huge success of the Sonic the Hedgehog live action series, a live action film based on ''VideoGame/StreetsofRage'' was announced, followed soon after by film adaptations of Comix Zone and Space Channel 5. Time will tell if any of these come to light or if they succeed.

* The long-rumored ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' film seems to have faded away. The last mention of it was in 2011 when attached director D.J. Caruso announced it would be a prequel, and that he was looking over a script treatment. Since then, Visceral Games have indicated that they don't want to rush into a "cash grab adaptation", which is the likely reason for the holdup. Since then Creator/JohnCarpenter (yes, ''that'' John Carpenter) expressed great interest in directing the film. Then the original series of games ended with the third title, sending the franchise into temporary retirement, film and all. A reboot of the original game was announced for 2023, time will tell if it is successful enough to revive the franchise, let alone lead to any more film attempts.

* A film adaptation of ''VideoGame/{{Driver}}'' was in development throughout the 2000's. Initially announced by Impact Pictures to release alongside ''VideoGame/Driver3'', the film was constantly pushed back and switched hands to Rogue Pictures among a revolving door of screenwriters, eventually landing with ''Film/PulpFiction'' writer Creator/RogerAvary. Avary intended to take liberties with the game's story, describing his script as "''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' set in Baghdad." with a plot about the son of the game's protagonist pursuing his father's killer in Iraq. The film ultimately died when executives would only give the film a $40 million dollar budget.

* The ''{{Franchise/Halo}}'' movie adaptation was talked about a great deal in the late 2000s, but nothing ever came to fruition. Mostly due to creative control and budgetary constraints/disputes. The resulting collapse of the initial project turned into ''{{Film/District 9}}''. Eventually, Showtime acquired the rights for a [[https://www.geekwire.com/2019/production-officially-begins-showtimes-halo-adapting-influential-microsoft-franchise-tv/amp/?__twitter_impression=true television series with a targeted release date in early 2021]], only for production delays to push the airing back a year, [[https://deadline.com/2021/02/halo-tv-series-latest-paramount-plus-move-1234698703/ with the series now set to air on the Paramount Plus streaming service]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Hunter}}: The Reckoning''. Rumor has it the project entered development hell because Creator/UweBoll bought the film rights to the video game and when White Wolf found out just who was going to be adapting one of their properties for cinema, they [[ExecutiveVeto rapidly put the kibosh on the project]].

* A movie based off ''Franchise/MegaMan'' was announced in September 2015, after Fox had registered several domain names for it a year prior. Two years later, it was revealed that Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (''Film/{{Catfish}}'') would write and direct the movie. In August 2019, following the sale of [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios 20th Century Fox]] to Creator/{{Disney}}, many of their films that were in development during that time were cancelled following the failure of ''Film/DarkPhoenix'', with people presuming the ''Mega Man'' film was one of them. [[https://www.rockman-corner.com/2019/10/the-live-action-mega-man-movie-isnt.html Two months later, it turned out that wasn't the case.]] (Though it could have moved to another studio, as Fox wasn't mentioned in that quote.)
** Turned out that was the case, as producer Peter Chernin jumped ship to Netflix after the Disney merger and took the ''Mega Man'' movie rights and several other projects with him.

[[folder: Anime and Manga Adaptations]]

[[folder: Comic Book Adaptations - DC]]

[[folder: Comic Book Adaptations - Marvel]]

[[folder: Comic Book Adaptations - Other]]

[[folder: Comic Strip Adaptations]]

[[folder: Literature Adaptations]]

[[folder: Theatre Adaptations]]

[[folder: TV adaptations]]

[[folder: Video Game Adaptations]]

[[folder: Miscellaneous Sequels, Remakes and Reboots]]

* A live-action reboot of ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' was announced in May 2015, with the planned film said not to share any ties to [[Film/InspectorGadget the 1999 film or its sequel]]. This is the only thing that's been heard about the project thus far.

[[folder: Western Animation Adaptations]]

[[folder: Other]]