10 Unmade Steven Spielberg Movies That Would Have Been Great

Steven Spielberg has made a string of classics in a career that stretches back to the 1960s, but the projects that didn’t pan out are just as interesting. Ultimately, it’s hard to look back on Spielberg’s glittering career so far and suggest he should have done anything else. Still, it’s a shame to see some of the exciting projects that fell through, and fans can only imagine how they would have looked.

The best Steven Spielberg movies include Jurassic Park, Jaws And these Indiana Jones Franchise. Had things been different, he might have had several other classics to his name. Spielberg worked in various genres, and he always showed a willingness to experiment with new ideas. Some of the most interesting movies he’s made include sci-fi thrillers, animated video game adaptations, and biopics about historical figures.

10

Superman

Spielberg almost directed Christopher Reeve’s first outing as Superman

Soon after the massive success of Jaws In 1975, Steven Spielberg was a man in demand in Hollywood. Producers Ilya Salkind and his father Alexander bought the right to make a Superman movie from DC Comics, and they then need to find a top-class director and the perfect actor for the lead role. Spielberg was one of those names, however He chose to direct Close encounters of the third kind Instead Before the negotiations became too serious.

Spielberg Superman May have turned out differently than Richard Donners version. While Spielberg has shown over the years that he has a flair for splashy action sequences and spectacular sci-fi imagery, he has never directed a superhero movie. He could also have swayed Ilya and Alexander Salkind to pick another Superman from their short list. Christopher Reeve was a very popular casting choice, but the producers considered Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen and even Muhammad Ali.

9

James Bond

Spielberg was interested in two Bond movies

Yet another project, Steven Spielberg considered Jaws was The spy who loved me Roger Moore’s third outing as James Bond. Spielberg asked Legendary Bond Producer Albert R. Broccoli to be considered, but Broccoli chose Lewis Gilbert for the job instead. Not to be daunted, Spielberg once again threw his hat into the ring for the next one Bond movie two years later, Moonraker. Again, Broccoli stuck with Gilbert.

After getting lost twice in quick succession, Steven Spielberg lost interest in directing a Bond Movie. Of course, Spielberg developed his own iconic action movie hero soon after, vi Raiders of the Lost Ark Came out in 1981. Now that Bond 26 If you’re looking for a director, Spielberg is firmly out of the running, but fans will always wonder what ideas he might have for 007.

8

Montezuma

Spielberg tried to make a movie and then a TV show about Hernán Cortés

In 1965, legendary Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo completed a script titled Montezuma, which examines the 16th century conflict between Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés and Aztec leader Moctezuma II. Almost 50 years later, Spielberg became interested in directing the script, edited by Schindler’s List Writer Steven Zailian. Javier Bardem was attached to star as Cortés.

Many of Javier Bardem’s best movies show his intimidating presence as a villain, and it is possible that the project would have interpreted Cortés as a bloodthirsty colonizer. The movie morphed into a four-part television miniseriesWhich was picked up by Amazon, but production was stopped after only a couple of weeks in 2020 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Martin Sorcese also tried and failed to get a television series about Hernán Cortés off the ground.

7

Why can’t I be Audrey Hepburn?

Steven Spielberg and Ryan Murphy almost got together

American Horror Story Creator Ryan Murphy claims he sold a script to Steven Spielberg in the 1990s called Why can’t I be Audrey Hepburn? The movie was set to follow a woman with the Breakfast at Tiffany’s Star who is jilted on her wedding day before meeting a man who shares her passion. Spielberg was too busy in the 1990s to find time for the project, and it was shelved.

Spielberg is clearly interested in honoring Audrey Hepburn’s legacy after directing her final film, 1989’s. Always. She passed away in 1993. Based on the details revealed by Murphy, It’s hard to imagine how the movie would have looked. It sounds like it could be a romantic comedy, but Murphy’s horror background and theme of obsession suggest it could also have been a psychological thriller. Unfortunately, it seems that the project will not be revived.

6

Lindbergh

Spielberg briefly developed a biopic on the famous flyer

Most people who have heard of Charles Lindbergh know two things about the man. The first is that he was a famous pilot, the first to make a non-stop trip from New York to Paris in the spirit of St. The second detail is that his infant son was kidnapped in the 1930s, leading to one of the biggest media circuses in American history. His life provides ample material for a major biopic, and Steven Spielberg bought the rights in 1998.

While developing the project, Spielberg could not find a way to reconcile Lindbergh’s anti-Semitic views and his Nazi-sympathizing tendencies. Spielberg ultimately decided that a biopic would celebrate the life of its subject, and that was something he had no intention of doing. Lindbergh’s life is an incredible storyWith many interesting threads that are largely unknown today, but he also has some affordable views that mean a big screen biopic could never materialize.

5

The Curse of Monkey Island

Spielberg’s video game adaptation never panned out

Steven Spielberg eventually directed his first animated movie in 2011 with The Adventures of Tintin, But this is not his first attempt to break into animation. In 2000, Spielberg was set to direct, produce and co-write a movie based on the video game. monkey island, with fear Screenwriter Ted Elliott. George Lucas originally developed monkey island, And he seemed ready to take on directing duties for the film adaptation.

The Monkey Island Series follows an inept adventurer named Guybrush Threepwood as he battles supernatural enemies and tries to become the most feared pirate in the Caribbean. Spielberg tried to make several pirate movies over the years. He directed hook, However He was almost involved in Pirates of the Caribbean and an adaptation of the novel by Michael Crichton Pirate latitudes.

4

Night skies

Night Sky would have been a much scarier et

Close encounters of the third kind was a huge success for Columbia Pictures, but Steven Spielberg has no intention of making a sequel. Instead, he began developing a spiritual sequel of sorts, called Night skies. Spielberg introduced himself Night skies Like a sci-fi horror movie about a group of aliens who come to Earth and start terrorizing a family living in a rural area of ​​America. Spielberg was inspired by the notorious Kelly-Hopkinsville alien sightings that occurred in Kentucky in 1955.

A story based on the Kelly-Hopkinsville has the potential to be a great sci-fi horror movieCombining the alien invasion genre with home invasion movies. Although the project ultimately did not come together, Spielberg used ideas from the script to develop et the extra-terrestrial, As well as Poltergeist And Gremlins which he passed on to other directors. Steven Spielberg will soon return to the sci-fi genre for another original UFO movie. Hopefully this project stays on track.

3

The ninth man

Spielberg wanted to make his first war movie in the 1970s

Steven Spielberg has been capturing the history of World War II for decades. Saving Private Ryan And Schindler’s List are two of the best movies during the conflict, and he also produced the acclaimed television miniseries Band of Brothers, The Pacific And Lord of the air. He almost made his first World War II movie in the 1970s, adapting John Lee’s thriller novel The ninth man.

The ninth man is based on the true story of Operation Pastorius, a failed Nazi plot to hand over submarines to the United States. Ultimately, eight people were captured by Americans, four in New York and four in Florida. The ninth man Imagine an extreme saboteur who evaded capture and managed to assimilate into American society. Tár Director Todd Field also tried to adapt The ninth man For the big screen decades after Spielberg, but both men eventually abandoned the idea.

2

The catcher in the queue

Spielberg is not the only filmmaker who has tried to adapt Salinger’s novel

The catcher in the queue is one of the most popular and important books in the history of American literature, but it has never been made into a movie. The reason for this is usually attributed to JD Salinger’s distaste for my foolish heart, A 1949 movie based on his short story “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut.” After the flop, Salinger never allowed filmmakers to live his work again, although many tried.

Steven Spielberg tried to acquire the rights to make The catcher in the queue In a movie in the early 2000s, however Salinger refused to give him a license. Spielberg became the last in a long line of famous filmmakers who tried and failed to adapt the novel for the big screen. Billy Wilder, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Elia Kazan were also unsuccessful. Disney almost made an animated version replacing the characters with cartoon dogs to get around the copyright laws, but that never panned out either.

1

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. biopic

The rights to King’s life story have been disputed

Steven Spielberg announced that he was working on a film about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 2009. He did not want to call it a biopic at the time, preferring to describe it as “A story of King and the movement and also of how his admiration for Mahatma Gandhi helped shape his moral core.” The rights were disputed for a while, meaning that the project was put on hold, but Spielberg emerged from the legal battle ready to press forward.

Ultimately, Spielberg’s movie about King fizzled out. It is possible that he could revive the project in the futureBut it’s been about a decade without any concrete updates. Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright and David Oyelowo have all played King in movies, and casting the lead role would certainly be the first big challenge for Spielberg to contend with. King’s life has been mythologized since his death, meaning that a thoughtful biopic could set the record straight.