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These in-development movies just got canned.
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00:00Though there are literally thousands of movies released every single year, the number of
00:05in-development films that end up getting scrapped for one reason or another is basically innumerable.
00:13Heck, some films get culled early enough in development that we never even hear about them,
00:19not unless someone close to the production spills the beans. Just a big ol' saucy mess everywhere.
00:27But there are of course many movies that get so close to actually being filmed that they're widely
00:34publicly known about and yet for one of many potential reasons, they still end up getting
00:40cancelled. And wouldn't you know it, it happened to a bunch of films just this year. So I'm Ewan,
00:46this is Watt Culture and it's time to stick our hands into that big ol' pile of bean goo
00:52and look at a few movies that just got cancelled.
00:55First up, Tron 4.
00:58Oh Hollywood, you silly old rascal. Well, we learn that Jared Leto just isn't the answer.
01:05The recently released Tron Ares was obviously intended to revitalize the series' big screen
01:12prospects, complete with an ending that showed that Jared Leto's Ares will seek out the protagonists of
01:18previous film Tron Legacy, specifically Sam, played by Garrett Hedlund, and Cora, played by Olivia Wilde,
01:25in the next movie. Which, yeah, that's just wildly optimistic to say the least.
01:32Obviously, the sequel's existence was entirely contingent upon the box office success of Ares,
01:38and given that the 220 million blockbuster will be lucky to crack 200 million worldwide by the end of its
01:45theatrical run, less than half of what Legacy made 15 years ago, well, that pretty much poured cold
01:53water on any plans for a fourth movie in the franchise.
01:57Days after the movie's soft opening weekend, the Hollywood Reporter indicated that Disney
02:02would likely now be quote-unquote retiring Tron as a cinematic event, instead using the IP's branding
02:10for theme park rides, video games, and maybe a TV show, potentially?
02:17Next up, Sylvester Stallone's Rambo Prequel
02:21Though 2019's Rambo Last Blood was initially intended to be the final entry into the Sylvester Stallone
02:28starring action thriller franchise, it didn't take too long for Sly to start talking up the prospect
02:34of another sequel anyway. Earlier this year, it was announced that the sequel had been scrapped in
02:40favour of a prequel called John Rambo, with Noah Centineo set to star as a younger iteration of the
02:48character. When discussing the prequel, Stallone mentioned that another version of the idea was
02:54actually in the works before this, in which Stallone would have once again portrayed Rambo
03:00with AI technology being used to make him look much younger. However, Stallone added that he
03:06ultimately quote-unquote procrastinated too long with the idea, at which point Rambo's rights holders
03:13decided instead to move forward with a different prequel starring a young actor. Considering how costly and
03:20risky it would be to de-age Stallone for an entire movie, it was honestly probably for the best that
03:26this version of a Rambo prequel never came to fruition. The Aristocats live-action...remake?
03:35The emotional whiplash reading out that heading has given me, like I didn't even know if this was a
03:40thing and it was gonna happen, but to find out that it was and that it's now also dead? Just like
03:46pure fatigue switching to relief, but also bewilderment in like the space of two seconds.
03:52Anyway, in 2022, Disney announced that they were set to produce a live-action remake of their beloved
03:581970 animated musical comedy, The Aristocats, which we've established I clearly managed to
04:04psychically block from my perception due to how bad and pointless all those other Disney live-action
04:11remakes are. Word went deathly quiet on the Aristocats remake in the years that followed its announcement,
04:26until this past August when Questlove flatly confirmed that the remake had been scrapped,
04:32citing numerous regime changes at Disney causing the film to get the old
04:38Now, given that Disney is taking a more conservative approach to their live-action
04:44remakes following the box office failure of Snow White earlier this year, prompting them to even
04:50pause a remake of hit animation Tangled, it's not terribly surprising that they've tabled a trickier
04:56adaptation of one of their less mainstream animations. Next on the list, an untitled Martin Scorsese
05:03and Leonardo DiCaprio project. It's no secret that the great Martin Scorsese constantly has
05:10numerous projects on the go, although which one exactly will be the next in the mixer has been
05:16the subject of some confusion. It was recently reported that Scorsese actually got incredibly
05:22close to shooting a new film this past summer with his regular collaborator, Leonardo DiCaprio. A
05:28project DiCaprio apparently dropped out of Damien Chazelle's Evil Knievel film to be a part of.
05:35The exact project in question hasn't been publicly revealed, and given the numerous
05:41unfilmed Scorsese and DiCaprio collabs over the years, it could be one of many. The most likely
05:47candidates include their long gestating Frank Sinatra biopic, an adaptation of Marilyn
05:52Robinson's acclaimed novel Home, serial killer dramatization The Devil in the White City which I
05:57just read this summer and gets my endorsement for It Should Be Made, and a Hawaii set crime drama
06:04co-starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. Whichever one it was, it didn't happen, and considering that
06:10the filmmaker turns 83 this year, the time window is naturally beginning to close for most of these
06:17projects to actually get made. The Transformers 1 sequel
06:21With last year's animated spin-off Transformers 1 scoring strong reviews from critics and a solid
06:27A cinema score from audiences, it seemed like a given that the film would be a box office success
06:33and spawn a wider franchise of animated pictures. But to the surprise of many, Transformers 1 flopped
06:40commercially, grossing well below expectations in its opening weekend and ending its global run with
06:46just $129.4 million. For a film said to be budgeted as high as $147 million, that is a disastrous result,
06:58and has been attributed to both mediocre marketing and competition from the more acclaimed animation
07:04The Wild Robot, which released just a week later. This left many doubting the prospect of a planned trilogy
07:12coming to fruition. All the more so once Transformers co-owner Hasbro revealed that they were stepping back
07:18from co-financing film adaptations in light of the movie's failure. But it wasn't until BotCon in June
07:242025 that director Josh Cooley formally confirmed that the planned Transformers 1 sequel had, indeed, been scrapped.
07:33However, recent word indicates that Cooley will instead be put to work directing a new live-action Transformers
07:40movie instead. So Paramount at least clearly appreciates the fine work he did on the animated version.
07:47On the way, Killing Gawker
07:50In summer 2024, it was announced that Killing Gawker was in the works, a dramatization of the
07:56legal battle between Hulk Hogan and Gawker Media after the latter published segments from a sex tape
08:02featuring Hogan in 2012. The film was set to be produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's label
08:09artist's equity and based on Ryan Holiday's book, Conspiracy, Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker,
08:16and the Anatomy of Intrigue. Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant was meanwhile circling to
08:26direct, and there were even rumors that Affleck himself would end up portraying the Hulkster.
08:32However, in light of Hogan's sudden passing this past July, word did the rounds that Killing Gawker
08:38had been scrapped by Damon and Affleck, and while one might assume this was directly related to his
08:45death, the report added that the decision was made long prior to this. Notably, Hulk Hogan had
08:51reportedly considered legal action against the filmmakers prior to his death, depending on the
08:57content of the movie. Another Star Wars disappointment now, with the hunt for Ben Solo.
09:04Now, in total fairness, this film was technically cancelled a few years back, but news of its
09:10existence was only brought to light in recent weeks. And yeah, if there was any further proof
09:16needed of Disney's headless chicken approach to Star Wars over the last seven years, well,
09:21here it is. Now, in total fairness, this film was technically cancelled a few years back, but news
09:29of its existence was only brought to light in recent weeks. Kylo Ren actor Adam Driver revealed in
09:36October that he and legendary filmmaker Steven Soderbergh spent two years developing a follow-up to
09:43The Rise of Skywalker called The Hunt for Ben Solo, with Soderbergh's regular collaborator Scott Zed
09:50Burns petting the script. Burns wrote a draft which Driver called quote one of the coolest scripts
09:58he'd ever been involved with, but ultimately, Disney CEO Bob Iger and co-chairman Alan Bergman
10:04rejected the pitch, expressing confusion over how Ben Solo could still be alive after episode 9.
10:12Given the vitriolic fan response to The Rise of Skywalker, a campaign to get this movie made swiftly
10:18began, urging Disney to greenlight the hunt for Ben Solo rather than leave it unmade forevermore.
10:25But considering the wildly messy state of modern Star Wars and the series fraught past with kowtowing
10:31for the loudest members of its fanbase, it seems incredibly unlikely that the Mouse House will
10:36actually pull the trigger on this one. Next up, an unspecified DC Universe film.
10:44James Gunn is currently in the midst of building up his DC Universe, which formally kicked off with his
10:50well-received reimagining of Superman this past summer. Gunn, who is incredibly online and regularly
10:57talks to fans and journalists alike about the state of ongoing projects, revealed to NPR back in July
11:04that one planned DCU movie was actually recently scrapped. He hasn't named the film in question,
11:10but Gunn said it was written and fully greenlit with a talented director in place, only to cancel
11:16the project because he knew the script wasn't in a good moment. Gunn added that he killed the film
11:23because he knew it would make everyone involved look bad, and this naturally left fans speculating
11:29on precisely which project it could be. Given that Andy Muskenny's The Brave and the Bold and James
11:35Mangold Swamp Thing are still said to be in development, it's far more likely to be something
11:40like The Authority, which Gunn had already admitted was struggling to come together many months before
11:46this interview. Either way, one of the previously slated DCU movies flat out isn't happening anymore,
11:53straight from the horse's mouth. On the way, Megan 3.0
11:592022's horror comedy Megan was such a stonking box office hit, grossing $181.8 million on a $12
12:08million budget, that it was abundantly clear that a major new IP was born. Sequel Megan 2.0 was
12:17swiftly greenlit, as well as an erotic thriller spin-off called Soulmate, and considering both the
12:22success of the original and the relatively low budget involved, it seemed like Blumhouse could crank
12:28these silly killer robot movies out for years. In the lead up to Megan 2.0's release, it was
12:35simply assumed that the film would be an easy success, after which Megan 3.0 would hit cinemas
12:41within a few short years. But in one of the more surprising box office stories of the year,
12:47the sequel massively underperformed, grossing just $39.1 million, barely 20% of what its predecessor
12:56raked in just a few years before. This was primarily attributed to Megan 2.0 veering into
13:03more overt sci-fi comedy territory while toning down the horror elements of the first film,
13:09ensuring that many who got a kick out of the first one just weren't interested this time around.
13:14The failure was catastrophic enough to ensure that all plans for Megan 3.0 seemingly ground to a halt
13:21overnight, but producer Jason Blum bluntly stating that he and the filmmakers quote,
13:26classically overthought how powerful people's engagement was with the title character.
13:32On the way, Carnival at the End of Days
13:36In June 2024, the great Terry Gilliam announced his latest film, Carnival at the End of Days,
13:43a fantastical satire in which Jeff Bridges and Johnny Depp would play God and Satan respectively,
13:50with a supporting cast to be filled out by Jason Momoa, Acer Butterfield, Emma Laird, and Tom Waits.
13:56Given that Gilliam turns 85 this year, the movie was widely expected to be his last,
14:03though the filmmaker recently confirmed that the project had been regretfully scrapped.
14:09In a new interview, Gilliam bluntly confirmed that Carnival at the End of Days wouldn't be happening,
14:15revealing that his Italian financing partners had failed to come through with the
14:19expected money. Despite his plaudits, Gilliam has struggled to finance films throughout most of
14:24his career due to their esoteric and often not remotely commercial nature, so this isn't terribly
14:31surprising even if it is hugely disappointing. Gilliam has now turned his sights to making The Defective
14:37Detective instead, which is a script he wrote more than 30 years ago and now hopes to make as his final
14:45project. So here's hoping it all comes together.
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