Steven Spielberg's unrealized projects

The following is a list of unproduced Steven Spielberg projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director Steven Spielberg has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially canceled, or were in development limbo.

White Lightning
Spielberg has confirmed that he turned down the offer to direct White Lightning (1973) in favor of directing The Sugarland Express (1974) instead.

Flushed with Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper
At the beginning of the 1970s, Spielberg tried to greenlight the production of Flushed with Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper, the semi-satirical biography of Thomas Crapper, who, as the book suggested, invented the flushing toilet. Spielberg approached screenwriters Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck to write the script. However, the film was never made due to various problems, so Spielberg left the project to direct The Sugarland Express.

Cruising
In the early 1970s, film producer Philip D'Antoni hired Spielberg to direct a film adaptation of Gerald Walker's novel Cruising. Spielberg was reportedly attached to the project for three years before officially dropping out. According to D'Antoni, "We just couldn’t come up with a script that met with my satisfaction... So we decided to abandon the project, and figured we’d go on to do something else together some other day, and Steven went back to LA.” The film adaptation was eventually directed by William Friedkin.

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
Spielberg expressed interest in directing The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976), but opted to direct Jaws instead.

Lucky Lady
Spielberg was considered to direct Lucky Lady for 20th Century Fox. The script was written by Huyck and Katz and Paul Newman was to have starred in the film had Spielberg directed. However, Spielberg could not direct the film due to his commitment with Jaws.

Superman: The Movie
Around 1975, after the success of Jaws, Alexander Salkind and his son Ilya wanted to hire Spielberg to direct Superman: The Movie, the first theatrical movie based on the Superman comic book series. However, due to Spielberg's commitment to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Salkinds finally hired Richard Donner to direct the film.

The Adventures of Indiana Smith
In May 1977, Spielberg met his colleague George Lucas in Hawaii. During that vacation, Lucas convinced Spielberg to make a film based on the film serials of the 1930s and 1940s. Lucas previously wrote a script for the planned film, entitled The Adventures of Indiana Smith; in which the main character, Indiana Smith, was based on James Bond. However, at the final moment, both Lucas and Spielberg made many changes to the script, whose concept was used to create Raiders of the Lost Ark, and subsequently, the Indiana Jones film franchise.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind 2
In late 1977, after the successful reception of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg expressed interest in filming a sequel or a prequel. However, he later refused the idea, because he felt that "The army's knowledge and ensuing cover-up is so subterranean that it would take a creative screen story, perhaps someone else making the picture and giving it the equal time it deserves". He also didn't want developer Columbia Pictures to make a sequel without him, which had happened with Universal Pictures' Jaws.

Magic
In the late 1970s, Spielberg expressed interest in directing a film adaptation of William Goldman's novel Magic and considered casting Robert De Niro for the lead role. The film ended up being directed by Richard Attenborough and Spielberg admitted, "...I went to see the picture and realized that it was a hell of a lot better than what I would have done."

Night Skies
After his decision not to make a sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg started the development of his next project, a science fiction horror film entitled Night Skies, whose concept was pitched by him during the development of Close Encounters. The film was intended to be a spiritual follow-up to Close Encounters. Lawrence Kasdan was attached to write the screenplay. However, the film wasn't made, although the main concept was the inspiration of two Spielberg's films: Poltergeist and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (although the first wasn't directed by Spielberg).

Blackhawk
In the early 1980s, Spielberg announced that he had plans to direct a film adaptation of the Blackhawk comic book series. Dan Aykroyd was attached to play Blackhawk. However, the project never materialized and Spielberg chose to direct Raiders of the Lost Ark. In April 2018, new development emerged when it was announced that Spielberg will produce/direct a new film adaptation of Blackhawk for Warner Bros., with the screenplay being written by David Koepp. Spielberg will co-produce the film with Kristie Macosko Krieger and Sue Kroll.

Reel to Reel
Around 1980, during the filming of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg contacted Gary David Goldberg to make a semiautobiographical musical film entitled Reel to Reel. The film's plot would have been surrounding a filmmaker named Stuart Moss, and his direction of a musical remake of Invaders From Mars. The film was officially announced in production in 1983, but Spielberg finally abandoned the project and chose to direct Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Three Amigos
After he finished Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg almost planned to direct the comedy Three Amigos next, with Steve Martin, Bill Murray and Robin Williams as the leads. He chose to direct E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial instead.

E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears
In July 1982, Spielberg hired E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial writer Melissa Mathison to write a script for a sequel film, entitled E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears. The film's plot would have shown Elliott and his friends getting kidnapped by evil aliens and follow their attempts to contact E.T. for help. However, Spielberg finally decided to cancel the sequel's production, feeling it "would do nothing but rob the original of its virginity".

Indiana Jones and the Monkey King
In September 1984, after the critical and mixed reception of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, George Lucas wrote a script entitled Indiana Jones and the Monkey King for the third installment of the film series. The film had the Fountain of Youth as the MacGuffin. Spielberg was attached to direct, but at the final moment, Spielberg decided to hire Chris Columbus to rewrite the script, and the third film ended up being Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Rain Man
Spielberg was among the few filmmakers attached to direct Rain Man prior to Barry Levinson's official involvement. It was Spielberg who convinced screenwriter Ronald Bass to make the character of Raymond Babbitt as an autistic savant. Spielberg dropped out as he was obligated to direct Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Spielberg regrets not directing Rain Man.

Who Discovered Roger Rabbit
In 1989, Spielberg discussed with J.J. Abrams the possibilites of making a sequel to the successful Who Framed Roger Rabbit feature film. The sequel's plot would have been Roger Rabbit, Baby Herman, and Richie Davenport traveling west to seek Roger's mother, in the process meeting Jessica Krupnick (Roger's future wife), a struggling Hollywood actress. While Roger and Ritchie are enlisting in the Army, Jessica is kidnapped and forced to make pro-Nazi Germany broadcasts. The film would also have been the first true film from Amblin Entertainment's animation division Amblimation. However, after directing Schindler's List, Spielberg refused to direct any films satirizing the Nazis. Michael Eisner commissioned a rewrite in 1997 with Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver. Although they kept Roger's search for his mother, Stoner and Oliver replaced the WWII subplot with Roger's inadvertent rise to stardom on Broadway and Hollywood. Disney was impressed and Alan Menken was hired to write five songs for the film and offered his services as executive producer. One of the songs, "This Only Happens in the Movies", was recorded in 2008 on the debut album of Broadway actress Kerry Butler. Eric Goldberg was set to be the new animation director, and began to redesign Roger's new character appearance.

Spielberg became busy establishing DreamWorks, while Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy decided to remain as producers. Test footage for Who Discovered Roger Rabbit was shot sometime in 1998 at the Disney animation unit in Lake Buena Vista, Florida; the results were a mix of CGI, traditional animation, and live-action that did not please Disney. A second test had the Toons completely converted to CGI; but this was dropped as the film's projected budget would escalate past $100 million. Eisner felt it was best to cancel the film. In March 2003, producer Don Hahn was doubtful about a sequel being made, arguing that public tastes had changed since the 1990s with the rise of computer animation. "There was something very special about that time when animation was not as much in the forefront as it is now."

In December 2007, Marshall stated that he was still "open" to the idea, and in April 2009, Zemeckis revealed he was still interested. According to a 2009 MTV News story, Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman were writing a new script for the project, and the animated characters would be in traditional two-dimensional, while the rest would be in motion capture. However, in 2010, Zemeckis said that the sequel would remain hand-drawn animated and live-action sequences will be filmed, just like in the original film, but the lighting effects on the cartoon characters and some of the props that the Toons handle will be done digitally. Also in 2010, Don Hahn, who was the film's original associate producer, confirmed the sequel's development in an interview with Empire. He stated, "Yeah, I couldn't possibly comment. I deny completely, but yeah... if you're a fan, pretty soon you're going to be very, very, very happy." In 2010, Bob Hoskins stated he was interested in the project, reprising his role as Eddie Valiant. However, he retired from acting in 2012 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a year earlier, and died from complications in 2014. Marshall has confirmed that the film is a prequel, similar to earlier drafts, and that the writing was almost complete. During an interview at the premiere of Flight, Zemeckis stated that the sequel was still possible, despite Hoskins' absence, and the script for the sequel was sent to Disney for approval from studio executives.

In February 2013, Gary K. Wolf, writer of the original novel, said Erik Von Wodtke and he were working on a development proposal for an animated Disney buddy comedy starring Mickey Mouse and Roger Rabbit called The Stooge, based on the 1952 film of the same name. The proposed film is set to a prequel, taking place five years before Who Framed Roger Rabbit and part of the story is about how Roger met Jessica, his future wife. Wolf has stated the film is currently wending its way through Disney. In November 2016, while promoting his latest film Allied, in England, Zemeckis stated that the sequel "moves the story of Roger and Jessica Rabbit into the next few years of period film, moving on from film noir to the world of the 1950s". He also stated that the sequel would feature a "digital Bob Hoskins", as Eddie Valiant would return in "ghost form". While the director went on to state that the script is "terrific" and the film would still use hand-drawn animation, Zemeckis thinks that the chances of Disney green-lighting the sequel are "slim". As he explained more in detail, "The current corporate Disney culture [the current studio management of The Walt Disney Company] has no interest in Roger, and they certainly don't like Jessica at all."

Why Can't I Be Audrey Hepburn?
According to Ryan Murphy on his appearance on the radio program Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Ryan sold a script he made for Spielberg called Why Can't I Be Audrey Hepburn? about a woman obsessed with famous film actress Audrey Hepburn  who has left at the altar who then meets a man just as Audrey-centric as she. The film was going to star Téa Leoni and Jennifer Love Hewitt as different roles. Spielberg was interested in making it, but the film's production was canceled after nothing new came out of it and Spielberg had a lot of other projects in the 90's he was busy working on.

Cape Fear
In the early stages of development, Spielberg was slated to direct the remake of the 1962 film Cape Fear whereas Martin Scorsese would direct Schindler's List (1993). Had Spielberg directed, he envisioned the roles of Max Cady and Sam Bowden to be portrayed by Bill Murray and Harrison Ford respectively. Spielberg eventually decided to swap projects with Scorsese in favor of directing Schindler's List instead. Although he was uncredited, Spielberg did remain as a producer of the remake.

Shrek
In 1991, Spielberg bought the rights to William Steig's 1990 children's book Shrek!. Spielberg originally envisioned his adaptation as a traditional animated film from Amblin Entertainment, with Bill Murray as the voice of the titular character and Steve Martin as the voice of Donkey. Despite co-founding DreamWorks Animation—the eventual owner of the Shrek franchise—in 1994, Spielberg moved on to other projects.

Indiana Jones and the Saucermen from Mars
In 1995, a time after the cancellation of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Jeb Stuart wrote a script for the fourth film in the Indiana Jones film series, entitled Indiana Jones and the Saucermen from Mars. Spielberg was supposed to direct it, while George Lucas was supposed to serve as producer. Although Lucas loved the script, Spielberg and Ford had issues with it, so Spielberg hired Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade writer Jeffrey Boam to make a rewrite of Stuart's script. However, the script was finally rejected after the release of Independence Day, which was released one year later. The fourth film, entitled Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was finally released in 2008.

Meet the Parents
It was reported that back in 1996, Spielberg was slated to direct Jim Carrey in a remake of Greg Glienna's 1992 film Meet the Parents for Universal Pictures. However, Spielberg, along with Carrey, left the project due to schedule conflicts. Spielberg's company DreamWorks served as a co-distributor of the 2000 remake.

The Truman Show
Spielberg was among the list of filmmakers considered to direct The Truman Show (1998) before Peter Weir officially assumed the position.

I'll Be Home
In 1999, Spielberg announced that he was working on an autobiographical film, entitled I'll Be Home, but nothing came of this project.

Harry Potter
Prior to Chris Columbus's official involvement, Spielberg was considered to direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Spielberg stated in 2012, "I was offered Harry Potter. I developed it for about five or six months with Steve Kloves, and then I dropped out." Spielberg wanted to combine the Harry Potter books into an animated film, but Warner Bros. president Alan F. Horn objected. Spielberg also wanted Haley Joel Osment to portray the titular character. Spielberg ultimately backed out as director due to creative differences with J.K. Rowling. He went on to direct A.I. Artificial Intelligence instead.

The Curse of Monkey Island
In the start of 2000, Spielberg was set to make his first animated feature film based on the Lucasarts video game series Monkey Island, a game series he was a fan of at the time. Spielberg was set to direct, produce and co-write the screenplay with Ted Elliott, with concept arts by the original game's designer Steve Purcell and animator Tony Stacchi, executive produced by Steven's best friend and founder of the game's developer George Lucas (making the second collaboration between Spielberg and Lucas outside the Indiana Jones series), co-production by Lucasfilm (Lucasarts' owner) and animation production by DreamWorks Animation and ILM. Despite the concept arts being released, the film's production was shut down since George was busy making Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and money problems. However some of the concepts later appeared in Ted's script to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl that was made by DreamWorks' rival Disney. Later in 2011, Spielberg made his first animated film with Peter Jackson called The Adventures of Tintin.

Indiana Jones and the City of Gods
On May 17, 2002, IGN reported that The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles writer Frank Darabont will write the fourth film of the film franchise of Indiana Jones, entitled Indiana Jones and the City of Gods, in which ex-Nazis would chase Indiana Jones. The script is very similar to the final script, including Indy's and Marion's wedding and a scene with army ants, but it didn't include Indiana Jones' son. Spielberg liked the script very much, but George Lucas disliked it, and for that reason, he hired David Koepp to write the film. The film ended up being Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which was released in 2008, with Spielberg returning as director.

The Catcher in the Rye
It was reported in 2003 that Spielberg attempted to direct a film adaptation of J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye but could not obtain the rights from Salinger.

The Goonies 2
On June 6, 2005, Richard Donner stated that he and Spielberg had written a story for a film sequel of Donner's acclaimed The Goonies, despite the fact that the main cast did not have any interest in reprising their roles for a sequel. However, in 2008, Corey Feldman stated on his personal blog that a sequel was unlikely to happen. Although on April 4, 2014, Donner confirmed that a sequel was in the works, it's likely that Spielberg had abandoned the project.

Interstellar
The premise for Interstellar was conceived by producer Lynda Obst and theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, who collaborated on the film Contact (1997), and had known each other since Carl Sagan set them up on a blind date. The two conceived of a scenario, based on Thorne's work, about "the most exotic events in the universe suddenly becoming accessible to humans," and attracted Spielberg's interest in directing. The film began development in June 2006, when Spielberg and Paramount Pictures announced plans for a science fiction film based on an eight-page treatment written by Obst and Thorne. Obst was attached to produce. By March 2007, Jonathan Nolan was hired to write a screenplay. After Spielberg moved his production studio DreamWorks from Paramount to Walt Disney Studios in 2009, Paramount needed a new director for Interstellar. Jonathan Nolan recommended his brother Christopher Nolan, who joined the project in 2012.

OldBoy
Spielberg was attached to adapt the manga Oldboy in the late 2000's. Will Smith was set to star and it was reported to be based on the manga not the earlier film adaptation. The project was abandoned due to rights issues. The film ended up being released on November 27, 2013 directed by Spike Lee and starring Josh Brolin.

Chocky
In September 2008, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Spielberg had acquired the rights of John Wyndham's novelette Chocky to make a film adaptation of it. However, no updates were made after this announcement.

Harvey
On August 2, 2009, Spielberg stated that he would direct a film adaptation of the play Harvey. Will Smith, Robert Downey, Jr. and Tom Hanks were considered to play the lead role, while Jonathan Tropper was hired to write the screenplay. DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox would have developed the film. However, Collider confirmed on December 4, 2009, that the project was cancelled due to problems with the lead role selection.

Robopocalypse
On October 22, 2010, Spielberg had signed on to direct a film adaptation of Robopocalypse. Chris Hemsworth, Anne Hathaway, and Ben Whishaw had signed on to star in the film. However, on January 9, 2013, Robopocalypse was placed on hold indefinitely mainly because of its production expenses. The next day, Spielberg clarified he was working on a new script that would be "more economically but also much more personally". In July 2015, concept artwork was leaked onto the Internet. On March 7, 2018, Michael Bay signed on to direct the adaptation.