James Gunn's unrealized projects

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The following is a list of unproduced James Gunn projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director James Gunn has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these productions fell in development hell or were cancelled. [1] [2]

Contents

1990s

Gilligan's Island

In the late 1990s, Gunn and Charlie Kaufman attempted to make a film adaptation of the 1960s television series Gilligan's Island , but as a cannibal film. Although the project was supported by Warner Bros., the film was never made because Sherwood Schwartz, who created the show, disapproved. [3] [4] [5]

Silver Surfer

In 1999, an executive from 20th Century Fox offered to hire Gunn to write and direct a film about the Marvel Comics superhero Silver Surfer. [1]

Spy vs. Spy

Also in 1999, Gunn wrote an unproduced screenplay adaptation of Spy vs. Spy . According to Gunn, Jay Roach was to have directed and Nicolas Cage and Eddie Murphy were to have starred. [6] [7]

2000s

Plastic Man

[8]

Scooby Doo 3

Gunn was to have helmed Scooby Doo 3, which would have been the third film of Scooby-Doo (2002). However, due to the critical and financial failure of Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), Warner Bros. cancelled the project. [2]

Creature from the Black Lagoon remake

In 2004, Gunn pitched to Universal Pictures his screenplay that was intended to be a remake of the 1954 film Creature from the Black Lagoon , but the studio turned down the pitch. [2]

Pets

In 2007, it was reported that Gunn was to write and direct a comedy film for New Regency titled Pets, with Ben Stiller serving as one of the producers. [1] [9] Gunn left the project due to creative differences. [1] [10]

The Belko Experiment

2010s

It's Alive remake

Larry Cohen said in a 2017 interview that Gunn had approached him for permission to make a remake of his 1974 film It's Alive . According to Cohen, Gunn "couldn't raise enough money to buy the rights. I'm sorry today I didn't give them to him." [11]

Starsky & Hutch TV continuation

On August 31, 2017, Gunn was set to direct and co-write a dramatic continuation of Starsky & Hutch with his brother Brian & cousin Mark Gunn as co-writers for Prime Video. [12] On July 24, 2018, an Amazon Studios spokesperson revealed on Yahoo! Finance that the series was cancelled months before Gunn was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 . [13]

Ravagers TV spinoff

In August 2017, Gunn said that he was in talks with Marvel Studios to make a Ravagers spinoff series. [14] [15]

2020s

Coyote vs. Acme

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Accardo, Brian (September 23, 2023). "Every Unmade James Gunn Movie We'll Never See". MovieWeb. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Williams, Jordan (September 19, 2021). "Every Unmade James Gunn Movie (Including Scooby-Doo 3)". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  3. ↑ Lattanzio, Ryan (October 14, 2021). "James Gunn and Charlie Kaufman Almost Made a Cannibalistic 'Gilligan's Island' Movie". IndieWire. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  4. ↑ Plant, Logan (October 13, 2021). "James Gunn Tried To Make a Gilligan's Island Reboot With Cannibals". IGN. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  5. ↑ Zinski, Dan (October 13, 2021). "James Gunn Pitched A Gilligan's Island Movie With A Cannibal Twist". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  6. ↑ Patterson, Adreon (May 1, 2020). "James Gunn Shares Details About His Insane Spy Vs. Spy Script". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  7. ↑ Fisher, Kieran (May 1, 2020). "The History of the 'Spy vs Spy' Movie". Film School Rejects. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  8. ↑ Kesh, Jonathan (March 11, 2023). "James Gunn Nearly Cast Matthew Lillard as DC's Plastic Man in the 2000s". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  9. ↑ Orange, B. Alan (September 21, 2007). "James Gunn Has Pets". MovieWeb. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  10. ↑ Riley, Jenelle (August 1, 2014). "Q&A: 'Guardians' Director Calls New, Big Budget Career in Hollywood 'Orgasmic'". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  11. ↑ Winfrey, Graham (May 4, 2017). "Larry Cohen, a Horror Hero For James Wan and Eli Roth, Reveals Why He Doesn't Watch Scary Movies and Hates Remakes". IndieWire. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  12. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (August 31, 2017). "James Gunn's 'Starsky and Hutch' TV Reboot Lands at Amazon". The Hollywood Reporter . Penske Media Corporation . Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  13. ↑ Roberts, Daniel (July 24, 2018). "Exclusive: Amazon says James Gunn 'Starsky and Hutch' reboot is off". Yahoo! . Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  14. ↑ Foutch, Haleigh (August 31, 2017). "James Gunn Talks 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' Filming Plans, Title, and More". Collider . Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  15. ↑ Gribben, Sean (August 7, 2021). "James Gunn Has Pitched a GOTG TV Spinoff Starring the Ravagers". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
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