When it comes to science fiction movies, there’s no limit to the imagination writers and directors can put into their stories. We’ve had some amazing science fiction stories that have been told in the last few decades, but sadly not every idea that sounds great on paper actually gets translated to the silver screen. Those movies are usually scrapped in the very early stages of preproduction and will live on forever as what could have been.
Let’s take a look at some amazing science fiction movies that almost happened, but – probably for good reason, if we’re being honest – never did.
Ghostbusters III: Hellbent
Before we had the all-female reboot, Dan Aykroyd was working on a script for a sequel to the Ghostbuster movies called Hellbent, which would take place in an alternate “Manhellton” instead of Manhattan. At the time the script was written, the studios deemed the special effects too expensive, and the excitement for the project never really rekindled. Aykroyd still considers Ghostbusters: The Video Game as essentially the third movie in the series.
Superman Lives
Yes, this is indeed the infamous Tim Burton Superman movie that would have been written by Kevin Smith and starred Nicolas Cage as Superman. The project was moving full steam ahead, but the script never really hit the level the studio wanted it to, so the project was – and I guess still is – shelved until such a time when the script could realize its potential.
George Lucas’ Star Wars Sequels
Before selling his legacy to the mouse company, George Lucas had the sequel trilogy planned out. It would take place right behind Return of the Jedi and see Leia try to rebuild the republic, Luke reforming the Jedi and none other than Darth Maul picking up the power vacuum left by the Emperor’s death. George was about to become a father however, and he decided that that project was more worthy of his attention.
Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek
Could you imagine a Star Trek movie made by Tarantino? His idea was to make a Pulp Fiction in space, which may sound like a good idea but also sounds like it really wouldn’t be a lot like Star Trek in the first place. It was supposed to be an R-rated project, and for some reason the studio seemed into the idea, but eventually Tarantino stepped down from the project, and we got the Star Trek movies with Chris Pine that we all know.
Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian
While we are in fact getting a Beetlejuice sequel that had its working title changed to “Blue Hawaii”, we still don’t quite know if that’s just a nod to this project or if they’re actually moving along with the original concept. The reason this didn’t happen earlier is because the studio wanted to use Tim Burton for a Batman sequel, and when Kevin Smith was asked to write this, he replied by stating that everything that needed to be said about Beetlejuice had already been said and there was no need to go tropical.
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4
Raimi wasn’t too happy with how Spider-Man 3 ended (none of us were, Sam) and he wanted to make a fourth movie to end the series on a high note. While there were some concrete plans in play already, the timing was too tight to make it work on the level Raimi wanted it to and since Sony was already making the reboot alongside this, the project was canned. Recent rumors have it that this project may get taken back up and still see the light of day, though.
