The following is a list of unproduced Ron Howard projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director Ron Howard has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially cancelled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.
In the 1990s, Howard was one of three directors, including Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, in talks with George Lucas to direct Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace , which Howard revealed on a 2015 episode of the Happy, Sad Confused podcast, stating that he found the offer too daunting, Lucas eventually ended up directing the film. [1]
On September 17, 1998, Howard and Brian Grazer were attached to a film adaptation of Dr. Seuss children's book Oh, the Places You'll Go! , but were busy adapting the live-action adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! . [2] On November 11, 2021, it was announced that Jon M. Chu would direct an animated adaptation of the book for Warner Animated Group and J. J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions. [3]
According to the Unspooled podcast, Amy Nicholson found out that Howard was set to direct a remake of Billy Wilder's classic comedy Some Like It Hot in a Marilyn Monroe biography, and Scarlett Johansson, Ashton Kutcher, and Shia LaBeouf in Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon’s roles, respectively, which Paul Sheer objected to the casting and the idea of cross-dressing movies. [4]
On September 16, 2002, it was reported that Howard was set to produce and possibly direct Hans Beimler and Robert Wolfe’s historical drama The Serpent and the Eagle about the relationship of Hernán Cortés and El Malinchi for Universal Pictures. [5] Howard ultimately chose to direct Cinderella Man instead.
On March 20, 2006, Howard was set to direct Jamie Moss' first Gulf War spec script Last Man Home, about a soldier who is on a covert mission to find his AWOL brother, with Brian Grazer set to produce and Universal Pictures set to distribute the film. [6]
On February 19, 2007, Howard was set to direct and produce the American remake of Michael Haneke’s psychological thriller Caché with Plum Pictures attached to produce and Universal Pictures set to distribute the remake. [7]
On July 17, 2007, Howard was set to direct and produce the film adaptation of Claire Messud’s novel The Emperor’s Children with Noah Baumbach writing the script and Universal Pictures set to distribute the film. [8] But in 2010, with Howard opting instead to direct The Dilemma , Baumbach replaced him as director, with Eric Bana, Keira Knightley and Richard Gere attached to star in the project; this production failed to materialize, and in July 2014, Lake Bell became attached to direct the project instead of Baumbach. [9] [10]
On October 10, 2007, Howard was set to produce Chuck Tatham's religious comedy The Church of Reggie with Brian Grazer and David Nevins through Imagine Entertainment for Fox. [11]
On March 25, 2009, Howard was set to produce and possibly direct the film adaptation of Mac Carter and Jeff Blitz’s graphic novel The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft with Carter writing the script and Universal Pictures set to distribute the film. [12]
On October 1, 2010, Howard was set to direct and produce the film adaptation of neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor’s memoir My Stroke of Insight for Sony Pictures, with Semi Chellas writing the script, Howard was reported as wanting Jodie Foster to star in the film. [13]
On April 28, 2011, it was reported that Howard was set to produce and direct Max Landis’ fantasy spy pitch Amnesty for Universal Pictures. [14]
On June 22, 2011, Howard was set to direct the film adaptation of the comic strip Spy vs. Spy with David Koepp writing the script. [15] But on April 29, 2020, Rawson Marshall Thurber took over writing and directing the movie with Howard attached as a producer only. [16]
On July 19, 2011, it was reported that Howard was set to direct a film adaptation of Jon Krakauer's 2003 novel Under the Banner of Heaven for Warner Bros., which eventually became the Hulu miniseries of the same name, for which Howard and Grazer served as executive producers. [17] [18]
On September 8, 2011, it was reported that Howard was set to produce and direct David Guggenheim’s superhero drama script 364 about a guy with superpowers one day every year for Universal Pictures. [19]
On October 11, 2011, it was reported that Howard was interested in directing Graham Moore’s script The Imitation Game about Alan Turing with Leonardo DiCaprio in talks to star, but Morten Tyldum ended up directing the film with Benedict Cumberbatch portraying Turing. [20]
On November 21, 2011, it was reported that Howard was set to direct the pilot episode of Akiva Goldsman’s biographical Western series based on Mary Doria Russell’s novel Doc, written by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage for HBO. [21]
On July 30, 2012, it was reported that Howard was set to direct and produce through Imagine Entertainment José Rivera’s historical Aztec series Conquest for Showtime. [22]
On January 17, 2013, Howard was set to direct the English-language film All I’ve Got after J. J. Abrams left to write and direct Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens . [23] But on April 19, 2016, Marielle Heller took over directing the movie from Howard, with Daisy Ridley attached to star and was entitled Kolma. [24]
On January 22, 2013, Howard was set to direct the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel The Graveyard Book for Walt Disney Pictures. [25] But on July 19, 2022, Marc Forster took over directing the movie from Howard. [26]
On February 8, 2014, it was reported that Howard was set to direct Gary Spinelli's script Mena about drug trafficker Barry Seal for Universal, which eventually became the Doug Liman film American Made , starring Tom Cruise. [27] [28]
On February 14, 2014, it was reported that Howard was set to direct an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's 1894 classic The Jungle Book for Warner Bros., which eventually became the Andy Serkis film Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle . [29]
On April 23, 2014, it was reported that Howard was set to direct a film adaptation of Joël Dicker's 2014 novel The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair for Warner Bros., which eventually became the Epix miniseries of the same name. [30]
On October 9, 2015, Howard and Grazer would co-produce the live-action film adaptation of the anime Tiger & Bunny as a co-production with All Nippon Entertainment Works and Bandai Namco Pictures. [31] But on June 3, 2022, Bandai Namco Holdings confirmed that a live-action English-language TV series will be made without Imagine Entertainment. [32]
On November 27, 2015, it was reported that Howard was attached to direct the film adaptation of J.P. Delaney’s novel The Girl Before and produce through Imagine Entertainment, which eventually became the TV series of the same name. [33]
On February 17, 2016, it was reported that Howard was possibly going to direct an adaptation of Pinocchio with Robert Downey Jr. set to produce and portray Geppetto. [34]
On October 21, 2016, it was reported that Howard was possibly going to direct Emma Frost’s script Zelda about the socialite Zelda Fitzgerald with Jennifer Lawrence set to produce and portray Zelda. [35]
On April 30, 2018, it was reported that Imagine Entertainment had won the film rights to the Rob Hart novel The Warehouse, with plans to develop the project for Howard to direct. [36]
On June 21, 2018, it was announced that Imagine Entertainment had acquired the rights to produce screenwriter Zach Dean's pitch Canary, a female-led science fiction story, with the intention of developing the project as a directing vehicle for Howard. [37]
On January 10, 2020, Howard was set to direct and produce The Fixer, a political thriller about a failed assassination attempt on Fidel Castro for Paramount Pictures. [38]
According to the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, Howard was offered the opportunity to direct Superman IV: The Quest for Peace by Christopher Reeve, but The Cannon Group, Inc. hired Sidney J. Furie to direct instead. [39] [40]
On July 11, 1997, Howard was in talks to direct and produce a new adaptation of James Thurber’s short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" through Imagine Entertainment for New Line Cinema, with Jim Carrey attached to star, but made EDtv instead, the project ultimately became the 2013 film directed by Ben Stiller and released by 20th Century Fox. [41]
In November 2021, while appearing on The Graham Norton Show , Howard revealed he had been approached to direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , but rejected the offer, telling Norton that, as he had just completed production on How the Grinch Stole Christmas , he did not want to do another fantasy film. [42]
On October 20, 2018, it was reported that Howard's Imagine Entertainment was in the running to acquire the film adaptation of Joe Iconis' musical adaptation of the novel Be More Chill , but Shawn Levy and Greg Berlanti acquired the project instead. [43]
Imagine Entertainment, also known simply as Imagine, is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard.
Akiva Goldsman is an American filmmaker. He is known for making motion pictures and adaptations of popular novels.
Plan B Entertainment, Inc., more commonly known as Plan B, is an American production company founded in November in 2001 by Brad Pitt, Brad Grey, Kristin Hahn and Jennifer Aniston. The company first signed with Warner Bros. as a replacement for Brad Grey Pictures, a company operated by Brad Grey. In 2005, after Pitt and Aniston divorced, Grey became the CEO of Paramount Pictures and Pitt became the sole owner of the company. The president of the company was for many years Dede Gardner, but she and Pitt named Jeremy Kleiner co-president with Gardner in 2013. Three of the production company's movies, The Departed, 12 Years a Slave and Moonlight, have won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Philip Anderson Lord and Christopher Robert Miller are American filmmakers. They are the creators and co-stars of the adult animated sitcom Clone High, and the writers and directors of the animated films Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and The Lego Movie (2014), as well as the directors of the live-action comedy film 21 Jump Street (2012) and its sequel, 22 Jump Street (2014).
The Dark Tower is a 2017 American neo-Western science fantasy film directed and co-written by Nikolaj Arcel. Based on Stephen King's novel series of the same name, the film stars Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, a gunslinger on a quest to protect the Dark Tower—a mythical structure which supports all realities—while Matthew McConaughey plays his nemesis Walter Padick, and Tom Taylor stars as Jake Chambers, a boy who becomes Roland's apprentice.
Andrés Walter Muschietti is an Argentine film director and screenwriter who achieved wide recognition with the 2013 film Mama. He gained further recognition for directing both films in the It film series, the 2017 film adaptation of the Stephen King novel and its sequel, It Chapter Two. In 2023, he directed the DC Extended Universe film The Flash.
Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless are American writers best known for writing films together. After box office successes like Dracula Untold (2014) and The Last Witch Hunter (2015), Sazama and Sharpless wrote Gods of Egypt (2016), Morbius (2022) and Madame Web (2024), all of which became box office bombs and received negative reception from critics. The duo also wrote a reboot of Lost in Space for Netflix.
The following is a list of unproduced Darren Aronofsky projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director Darren Aronofsky 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" or were cancelled.
Thomas Scott Nowlin is an American screenwriter. He is known for writing the screenplays for the films James Dashner's The Maze Runner film adaptation trilogy (2014–2018), Pacific Rim Uprising (2018), and The Adam Project (2022).
The following is a list of unproduced Sam Raimi projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director and producer Sam Raimi has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects, are officially cancelled and scrapped or fell in development hell.
The following is a list of unproduced Chris Columbus projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director Chris Columbus has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects, are officially scrapped or linger in "development hell."
Monkeypaw Productions is an American film and television production company founded in 2012 by Jordan Peele. The company is known for producing horror films, such as Get Out, Us, Candyman, Nope and Wendell & Wild. On October 1, 2019, the company signed a 5-year exclusivity deal with Universal Pictures that will last until October 4, 2024.
The following is a list of unproduced J. J. Abrams projects in roughly chronological order. During a career that has spanned over 30 years, J. J. Abrams has worked on projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction.
Brownstone Productions is an American film and television production company founded by actress, director and producer Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman. It is known for producing films in the Pitch Perfect franchise, Charlie's Angels (2019) and Cocaine Bear (2023).
The following is a list of unproduced Michael Bay projects in roughly chronological order. During his career, American film director and producer Michael Bay 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" or are officially canceled.
Sunday Night Productions is an American film and television production company founded by John Krasinski and Allyson Seeger in 2013. It has produced the television series Lip Sync Battle, Dream Corp LLC, and Jack Ryan, the YouTube streaming news show Some Good News (2020), and the films Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (2009), Promised Land (2012), The Hollars (2016), and A Quiet Place Part II (2020).
The following is a list of unproduced Robert Zemeckis projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director Robert Zemeckis has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially cancelled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.
Greg Russo is an American screenwriter and director. He is best known for writing the 2021 film adaptation of Mortal Kombat. He is also set to write a sequel to the 2017 film Death Note, adaptations of F.E.A.R.Saints Row, Space Invaders and System Shock, which he will also direct.
The following is a list of unproduced Kathryn Bigelow projects in roughly chronological order. During her long career, film director Kathryn Bigelow has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under her direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially cancelled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.
I'd read the books and they were fantastic but, in all honesty, I had just finished the Grinch. That was fun and fascinating, but an unbelievably challenging and difficult production so I didn't want to be in the fantasy world for another few years.