There was a lot of potential for Marvel movies long before the days of Marvel Cinematic Universewith many films sadly not getting the green light despite promising intriguing concepts. Since then Iron Man, The MCU films turned Marvel Comics into a pop culture titan, redefining the metrics of success in modern cinema. But there were some interesting attempts at Marvel film adaptations before the MCU that never got off the ground, despite the best efforts of their names attached.
It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when Marvel Studios struggled to maintain relevance, having already sold its most successful IPs to Sony with the Spider-Man trilogy and Fox with Fox X-Men films. Left with less popular characters, it was often difficult for filmmakers to secure financing, talent, or concrete ideas before the film's release. Iron Man. In fact, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was attempted many times before finally seeing a second of actual footage.
10
James Cameron's Spider-Man
Almost gave Spider-Man a bombastic 90s movie
Before Marvel sold the Spider-Man film rights to Sony, the comic book giants attempted to adapt the friendly neighborhood hero into live-action on their own. Thanks to the success of Terminator series and aliens, James Cameron must have seemed like a sure choice for a worthy blockbuster using the comic book character. Eventually, a Spider-Man project directed by James Cameron began brewing at Marvel Studios as early as 1990.
Writers Barry Cohen and Ten Newsom penned a script featuring a college-aged Spider-Man facing off against Doc Ock before Cameron came on board, bringing with it some bizarre changes. Cameron's vision for Spider-Man felt more like a horror film than a superhero story, with one draft reportedly including a sequence in which Peter Parker hypnotizes Mary Jane with a sort of arachnid dance. Needless to say, Cameron's ideas proved too extreme to receive the green light, and the project languished in obscurity before eventually falling into oblivion.
9
Wolverine and the X-Men
Almost brought mutants to the big screen a decade earlier
Between the popularity of comics and the classic 90s cartoon, X-Men: The Animated Series, the 1990s felt like the hottest franchise ever, ripe for a live-action movie. Sensing the opportunity, Marvel attempted to forge a live-action X-Men film a decade before Fox managed to get its hands on the IP, working with Stan Lee himself alongside Chris Claremont and Carolco Pictures. The film would be titled Wolverine and the X-Men, predictably taking on the same focus on the clawed Canadian that 2000s films would later manifest.
Surprisingly, Bob Hoskins was in talks to play Wolverine, while Angela Basset was tentatively attached as Storm. Once again, James Cameron was brought in as producer, actually working on the development of the X-Men film prior to his involvement with Spider-Man, only for Stan Lee to distract him with Peter Parker. Eventually, the idea was set aside in development hell before the film rights to the characters were finally sold to Fox Studios.
8
Tom Cruise's Iron Man
The MCU almost started much earlier
wasn't Hollywood's first attempt at bringing Tony Stark to life, despite Iron Man's previous status as a relatively C-list hero. Among the actors who almost played Iron Man was none other than Tom Cruise, still enthusiastic about the success of the original superior weapon, a fitting selling point for the high-flying hero. Tom was given an Iron Man script written by Stan Lee himself, almost producing some fascinating results.
The original draft of the story in 1997 altered Tony Stark's story, changing his kidnapping to an assassination attempt following a hostile takeover of his company by the terrorist group AIM Cruise, Iron Man, who was supposed to rework his search and rescue in the Stark Industries. wear Iron Man's first armor in a fight against MODOK. Introducing such a far-fetched villain early on would have been a fascinating departure for the early MCU story. However, Cruise ultimately dropped out of the project, being unimpressed with the finished script.
7
Thor by Sam Raimi
Studio executives' shortsightedness missed a huge opportunity
Long an icon in the horror-comedy world, the legendary Sam Raimi was reportedly contacted by Stan Lee himself in the '90s after seeing his film. Dark Man. Lee was eager to work with Raimi on a Thor script, with the two coming together to develop and pitch the idea to some executives at Fox Studios. Hilariously, Fox executives reportedly turned down Raimi and Lee's proposal on the grounds that superhero films were unprofitable, a claim that has been endlessly proven wrong in the modern era of cinema.
It would have been amazing to see what ideas creative Sam Raimi had in mind for Thor, likely injecting his trademark dark sensibilities and macabre humor into the Asgardian's story. Eventually, Sam Raimi got the chance to direct a Marvel movie thanks to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, one of the few films in the franchise that allows its director's signature style to really shine. After seeing his take on Doctor Strange, Sam Raimi's Thor feels like a bitterly missed opportunity.
6
Black Panther by Wesley Snipes
Snipes was almost another classic Marvel superhero
Wesley Snipes has already earned endless respect on the comic book movie circuit for his time as Eric Brooks in Blade franchise, providing one of the most memorable performances from Marvel characters long before the cultural dominance of the MCU. However, Stan Lee also approached Snipes at one point with the idea of making a Black Panther film long before the 2018 version was even developed. Supposedly, Wesley Snipes was a huge fan of the character growing up, connecting with him in a way he never did with Blade.
Unfortunately, the two struggled to market their idea for a Black Panther movie to studios that weren't already familiar with the comic book history. Many executives would have confused the hero's name with the political movement of the same name in the 60s and suggested changes to the plot that would merge the two. It's fascinating to imagine a world in which Wesley Snipes plays not just one, but two of Marvel's most iconic black characters in a live-action film franchise.
5
Doctor Strange by Wes Craven
Could have been an interesting horror twist on Sorcerer Supreme
While Sam Raimi may have been the horror director who managed to stamp his signature style on Doctor Strange, Wes Craven almost beat him to it years earlier. Once again hiring Stan Lee to write a script, Marvel paired the comic book legend with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas scribe Alex Cox in 1990 with the goal of making Doctor Strange a supernatural horror film. The film was almost done, but a small corporate dispute with Marvel on behalf of Warner Bros. forced the project to take a backseat for another two years.
Eventually, Wes Craven of Nightmare on Elm Street fame took up the concept again, working with Savoy Pictures on a new idea for a Doctor Strange horror script. Considering how great Sam Raimi's take on Doctor Strange was, it's clear that both parties had valuable potential, even if they didn't realize it. Unfortunately, nothing came of that script either, and a frightening vision of the Sorcerer Supreme wouldn't manifest itself in theaters for another 30 years.
4
Luke Cage by Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino almost had the chance to make a dream comic book movie
Quentin Tarantino's successful filmography needs little introduction, speaking for itself about the quality of the creative visionary's style and his talent for directing. Bill's comic speech in Kill Bill Vol. 2 it didn't come out of nowhere, as Tarantino has been a huge comic book fan for a long time. Tarantino described his favorites as Luke Cage, aka Power Man, and later Shang-Chi, which makes sense considering his films' clear homage to the Blaxploitation and martial arts genres.
Tarantino almost had the chance to adapt Luke Cage for the big screen long before the Netflix series, as far back as 1991. His top choice to play Cage was none other than Matrix star Laurence Fishburne, who was coming off the success of Boyz and the Hood. Unfortunately, this casting decision had enough vocal detractors for the idea to fall apart, and audiences were deprived of one of the most perfect director and star pairings for a comic book movie adaptation ever.
3
Poison by David S. Goyer
Venom Almost Got a Solo Movie Before Spider-Man
Sony's decision to give Poison a solo film might initially seem strange to those unfamiliar with the comics, seeing Venom more as a Spider-Man villain than an interesting character in his own right. However, ideas for a Venom solo film have been circulating for much longer than one might think, with a concept almost filmed as far back as 1997, before the first Spider-Man film could even get off the ground. 1997 by David S. Goyer Poison The script had some interesting ideas, including the casting of Dolph Lundgren as Venom himself.
The script would have seen the Venom symbiote land on Earth from a planet of alien spiders, bonding with Eddy Brock, surreptitiously distancing himself from the comic character by spelling his first name differently. From then on, the two would face Carnage, with the condition that Cletus Kasady and Brock had known each other since childhood. For all its bizarre changes, the failed Venom movie essentially feels like a '90s version of Venom: Let There Be Carnagewhich would have been a pleasure to see adapted sooner.
2
Namor's solo film
The Submarine was once a big enough name to have its own movie
Not every canceled Marvel movie revolved around a character who ended up getting their own solo project. If there's one Marvel anti-hero who's lost relevance since the '90s, it's Namor the Sub-Mariner. When he was more popular, Marvel attempted to sell the rights to produce a Namor film alongside Spider-Man and the X-Men when the company found itself in financial difficulties.
Marvel has blessed director Phillip Kaufman, known for the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The right thing, with the rights to a Namor film. However, Kaufman himself wanted Tim Burotn's Batman writer, Sam Hamm, on board the script. Unfortunately, the project never managed to get off the ground, although it would have been interesting to see a more comic book-faithful story featuring the Atlantean character before release. Aquaman films and the change in Namor's story in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
1
The Silver Surfer's independent solo film
A true passion project that Marvel turned down
Despite being Stan Lee's favorite hero, the Silver Surfer isn't an easy sell to would-be filmmakers, being an esoteric alien with strange looks and a vague set of powers. Still, Marvel came very close to airing a dedicated Silver Surfer solo film, thanks to the efforts of one passionate fan. In 1989, a film student approached Marvel with the idea of making an entirely CGI Silver Surfer film, even crafting a five-minute short as a proof of concept.
It's painfully nostalgic to imagine a time when Marvel was willing to listen to a lone film student's idea in today's harsh demands on existing intellectual property and proven talent. Ultimately, the Silver Surfer movie never happened, and the character only had one regrettable appearance in the blockbuster in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Who knows how different the Marvel Cinematic Universe it might look like today if the comic book company entered the '90s with a CGI Silver Surfer movie.