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Few things strike fear into the hearts of filmmakers quite like the term “development hell”. A formless purgatory in which projects simultaneously exist and fail to be, it describes an extended disruption in the early stages of a film’s development and has seen many anticipated pictures doomed to nothingness. However, there have been some movies which went through such purgatory and came out the other end in one piece.
Much like the proverbial snowball, these projects looked to be doomed to a grisly fate, but through perseverance, a change in creative personnel, or sheer dumb luck, they finally turned things around and went on to prosper. From Oscar-winning dramas to sci-fi stunners, superhero blockbusters, and even a Scorsese epic, it’s almost impossible to think that these movies almost never came to be.
‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ (1975)
After playing the role of Randle McMurphy on Broadway in 1963-64, Kirk Douglas purchased film rights to Ken Kesey’s novel and strived for 10 years to get an adaptation. He later sold the rights to his son, Michael Douglas, who succeeded in getting the film made, but not without some hardship of his own.
Nearing 60 by the time One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest finally went into production, Kirk was considered too old to reprise his role, and it was left to Michael to break the news to him. Jack Nicholson won an Oscar for his portrayal of McMurphy – one of five Academy Awards the film earned – which didn’t help ease the tension in the father-son relationship at the time.
‘The Princess Bride’ (1987)
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While William Goldman might be best remembered as great screenwriter, he started out as an accomplished novelist, with The Princess Bride among his best work. Goldman worked tirelessly to get a film adaptation in motion, and even spent his own money to buy back the rights when 20th Century Fox put it on a hiatus after almost making it with Richard Lester directing.
Robert Redford and François Truffaut were among several other directors considered for the film, but all the deals fell through until Rob Reiner – who had a deep admiration of the novel – signed on. Reiner and Goldman worked closely to adapt the novel, with the film becoming an instant classic which remains popular today.
‘Spider-Man’ (2002)
It may be an unthinkable circumstance today, but when Spider-Man was in development in the 80s Stan Lee had to fight tooth and nail to have his beloved character handled with respect. 21st Century Film Corporation gained rights to the project in 1989 and James Cameron was attached to direct for a time, but the project was disbanded after the abysmal response to 1997’s Batman & Robin.
However, some faith in the superhero genre was restored with Blade becoming a success and Fox’s X-Men entering production. Sony acquired the rights to the character in 1999 and brought on Sam Raimi to direct. After two decades of development hell, Spider-Man became a ground-breaking success upon release in 2002 and helped re-invent perceptions of what a superhero movie could be.
‘Gangs of New York’ (2002)
Among the many filmmaking accolades to his name already, Martin Scorsese should be labeled the patron saint of lost films. He oversaw The Irishman, Silence, and The Last Temptation of Christ through years of development hell, but it’s his 2002 crime epic Gangs of New York which is the finest testament to his persistence.
He first came across Herbert Asbury’s non-fiction book in 1970 and acquired screen rights to it in 1979. The project underwent several periods of change before being conceived as the film we know today. In 2002 – 32 years after Scorsese first read the book – Gangs of New York was finally released and earned 10 Oscar nominations.
‘Dallas Buyers Club’ (2011)
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Craig Borten first penned a screenplay for Dallas Buyers Club in 1992 after interviewing the real-life Ron Woodroof just a month before he died. The script underwent 10 re-writes in the next decade and had several directors tied to the project but, unable to secure financial backing, it was stranded for years.
It wasn’t until 2009 when Matthew McConoughey signed on to star in the biopic that it finally started to gather some momentum. The film started production in 2012 with Jean-Marc Vallée directing and was released in 2013, winning three Oscars from its six nominations.
‘Frozen’ (2013)
Starting off as a co-production between Disney and Samuel Goldwyn in 1940, the adaptation of Hans Christen Anderson’s The Snow Queen was shut down when America entered WWII and Disney opted to focus on making wartime propaganda. Disney’s take on the story was shelved for decades, eventually garnering some interest again during the Disney renaissance in the 90s.
However, it fell through in 2002 and then again in 2010. After the success of Tangled though, Disney announced Frozen would be released in 2013. Jennifer Lee was hired as the screenwriter in 2012 and was later promoted to co-direct alongside Chris Buck who was involved with the canceled 2010 project. Released 73 years after first being conceptualized, Frozen went on to become one of the most successful animated films ever made.
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)
George Miller first conceived of a fourth Mad Max film in 1999, and the initial development of the project was quite smooth until it was disrupted by budgetary issues caused by the collapse of the U.S. dollar after 9/11. It ran into several subsequent delays for a range of reasons including Miller’s work on 2006’s Happy Feet.
The extended hiatus finally ended with Tom Hardy being cast in the lead role in 2010 and production beginning in 2012. Mad Max: Fury Road was finally released in 2015 and earned six Oscars from 10 nominations. The Furiosa prequel has hit a few bumps of its own in its development stage but is in full flight now and is set for a 2024 release.
‘Deadpool’ (2016)
The idea to make a Deadpool movie was conceived as early as 2000 and Ryan Reynolds had been tied to the project since 2004, but nothing came to be. There were plans to use the character’s appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine as a catalyst to spark a Deadpool spin-off but audience disapproval, and Reynolds’ own superhero disaster with 2011’s Green Lantern, looked to have killed the film for good.
While Fox had reservations about making an R-rated superhero movie, the studio did give director Tim Miller enough money to shoot some test footage. The studio wasn’t impressed by what it saw but in 2014 that test footage was leaked to the public who lapped it up. Deadpool went into production the following year and was finally released in 2016.
‘The Man Who Killed Don Quixote’ (2019)
It’s debatable if The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is a great movie. What’s not debatable is it is one of the all-time great development hell stories. Terry Gilliam first read Miguel de Cervantes’ classic Don Quixote in 1989 and began working on an adaptation immediately, however, the project was stranded in its development stage and Gilliam turned away from Hollywood in favor of Europe in 1997.
While the transition worked for Gilliam initially, it ended up being a case of out of development hell and into a production nightmare. The shoot was beseeched by a series of freak incidents which led many to speculate the film was cursed and eventually caused the film to be aborted. Gilliam’s passion project finally re-entered production in 2017 and premiered in 2018 as the closing film of the Cannes Film Festival after nearly 30 years of development hell.
‘Dune’ (2021)
In a sense, Dune had been stranded in purgatory ever since Frank Herbert’s novel was published in 1965. The book received two underwhelming screen adaptations which looked to have snuffed any hope of the tale being realized on the big screen, but interest in another attempt was rekindled after the success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
After Paramount dropped their Dune project in 2010, Legendary Entertainment acquired adaptation rights in 2011. It took them until 2016 to get the film and television rights with Denis Villeneuve officially confirmed to direct the film in February 2017. After his release of Blade Runner 2049, Villeneuve dedicated himself to making Dune and the rest is history.
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