Edgar Wright's unrealized projects

Last updated

The following is a list of unproduced Edgar Wright projects in roughly chronological order. During his career, British film director Edgar Wright 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 would see life under a different production team.

Contents

2000s

From Dusk Till Shaun

The prospect of a sequel to Shaun of the Dead was first brought up on the commentary track for the film's home media release, with the proposed title From Dusk Till Shaun. Simon Pegg, star and co-writer of the film, stated in a 2017 interview that he had drawn up a treatment for a sequel, with Wright suggesting that vampires would replace zombies. However both men felt that the first film worked better as a stand-alone film, in addition to the events of the film making a sequel seem improbable. [1] A reference to the proposed sequel was made in the 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse . [2] In a 2021 interview with Total Film , Jessica Hynes revealed that a Yvonne of the Dead spin-off had been considered, set parallel with the events of Shaun of the Dead. [3]

Ant-Man

Wright had been developing a live-action film based on the Marvel Comics superhero Ant-Man with Joe Cornish since 2006. [4] However, on 23 May 2014, Wright and Marvel Studios issued a joint statement announcing that Wright would exit the movie due to creative differences. [5] According to Wright, he had been hired as writer-director but became unhappy when Marvel wanted to write a new script. In 2017, he said: "The most diplomatic answer is I wanted to make a Marvel movie but I don't think they really wanted to make an Edgar Wright movie ... having written all my other movies, that's a tough thing to move forward. Suddenly becoming a director for hire on it, you’re sort of less emotionally invested and you start to wonder why you’re there, really." [6] He was replaced by Peyton Reed as director, with Adam McKay and star Paul Rudd rewriting the screenplay. He and Cornish received both screenplay and story credits, with Wright also credited as executive producer. [7]

Don't

In April 2007, it was reported that Wright may expand Don't, a fake trailer he had made for Grindhouse , into a feature film. [8] According to Eli Roth, he and Wright have discussed the possibility of pairing Don't with Thanksgiving for a Grindhouse sequel. Roth is quoted as saying "We're talking to Dimension about it. I think they're still trying to figure out Grindhouse 1 before we think about Grindhouse 2, but I've already been working on the outline for it and I would do it in a heartbeat." [9] Nothing further on the idea had been announced since. Roth subsequently released Thanksgiving on its own in 2023.

2010s

The Night Stalker

Wright had been hired by Disney in February 2012 to direct a feature film adaptation of the 1970s television series with Johnny Depp cast to play Carl Kolchak. [10] D.V. DeVincentis had been hired to write the screenplay in May 2012, [11] with the project still in active development by May 2014 and the project Wright was expected to begin work on after exiting his director position on Ant-Man. [12]

Collider

Wright was hired by Paramount Pictures in July 2012 to direct a science fiction film titled Collider, which he would co-write with Mark Protosevich as well as produce alongside J. J. Abrams and Nira Park. [13] No further announcements were made in the film past that point.

Grasshopper Jungle

In July 2014, Wright was announced as director of the film adaptation of Andrew Smith's novel Grasshopper Jungle for Sony Pictures. [14] However by March 2020 no further development on the film had been announced.

New Wright/Frost/Pegg Trilogy

On August 20, 2014, Wright and Simon Pegg said that they are trying to make a new movie trilogy that doesn’t continue the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy in the 2020’s starring Pegg and Nick Frost. [15] However by March 2020 no further development on the film had been announced.

Dodge and Twist

In January 2015, Wright submitted a re-write of the screenplay, which would see the story of Oliver Twist pick up twenty years later, where Twist would be a police officer tangling with a still active Artful Dodger. Ahmet Zappa would produce with Matt Tolmach, and actors Andrew Garfield and Eddie Redmayne were envisioned for the lead roles. [16]

Fortunately, The Milk

In October 2015, Wright was announced as director of the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel Fortunately, The Milk. The time-travel story will be a hybrid of live-action and animation. The film was to star Johnny Depp, with a screenplay co-written by Wright and Flight of the Conchords alumnus Bret McKenzie. [17]

Shadows

In November 2015, it was announced that Wright would direct and co-write with David Walliams a DreamWorks Animation film centered on "the concept of shadows", that has been in development since 2010. Shadows, as the film was known, was to be Wright's animation directorial debut. The film has been in development for a long time, changing directors. Mark Dindal, who created the film's original story, was involved between 2010 and 2012, was replaced by Alessandro Carloni from 2012 to 2015, and Wright is slated to develop the picture. Three drafts of the script were written but the project is on hold due to staff changes at DreamWorks leaving it in limbo. [18]

Baby Driver 2

Discussions of a sequel began in December 2017, with Wright announcing his intent to develop a script to the media. [19] The writer-director began drafting the screenplay in January 2019, introducing an ensemble of new characters to advance the story. [20] By July 2019, Wright had shown Elgort a copy of the completed script, currently under a tentative working title. [21] In January 2021, Wright confirmed that he had finished writing the sequel's script. [22]

2020s

Set My Heart to Five

In March 2020, it was announced that Wright would be directing an adaptation of the book Set My Heart To Five by Simon Stephenson, who would also have written the screenplay. The story follows an android dentist named Jared in the year 2054, as he undergoes an emotional awakening after he is introduced to the world of 80s and 90s movies. The film was set to be produced by Working Title Films and Focus Features. [23]

The Chain

In June 2020, Deadline Hollywood reported that Wright would direct an adaptation of the 2019 novel The Chain by Adrian McKinty for Universal Pictures, with the screenplay written by Jane Goldman. [24]

Offers

Mission: Impossible 4

In March 2010, it was announced that Wright was offered the position to direct the fourth Mission: Impossible movie, which Andre Nemec and Josh Appelbaum have written the screenplay. The movie ended up as Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Brad Bird directed it. [25] [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Rodriguez</span> American filmmaker (born 1968)

Robert Anthony Rodriguez is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 action film El Mariachi, which was a commercial success after grossing $2.6 million against a budget of $7,000. The film spawned two sequels known collectively as the Mexico Trilogy: Desperado (1995) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Cornish</span> English comedian and filmmaker

Joseph Murray Cornish is an English comedian and filmmaker. With his long-time comedy partner, Adam Buxton, he forms the comedy duo Adam and Joe. In 2011, Cornish released his directorial debut Attack the Block. He also co-wrote The Adventures of Tintin with Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright, and Ant-Man, with Wright, Adam McKay, and Paul Rudd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher McQuarrie</span> American filmmaker (born 1968)

Christopher McQuarrie is an American filmmaker. He received the BAFTA Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the neo-noir mystery film The Usual Suspects (1995).

<i>Shaun of the Dead</i> 2004 film directed by Edgar Wright

Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British romantic zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, who co-wrote it with Simon Pegg. The film stars Pegg as Shaun, a downtrodden London salesman who gets caught alongside his loved ones in a zombie apocalypse. It also stars Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran, Bill Nighy, and Penelope Wilton. It is the first instalment in Wright and Pegg's Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, followed by Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World's End (2013), both of which also star Pegg and Frost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Koepp</span> American screenwriter (born 1963)

David Koepp is an American screenwriter and director. He is the ninth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.3 billion. Koepp has achieved both critical and commercial success in a wide variety of genres: thriller, science fiction, comedy, action, drama, crime, superhero, horror, adventure, and fantasy.

<i>Shantaram</i> (novel) 2003 novel by Gregory David Roberts

Shantaram is a 2003 novel by Gregory David Roberts, in which a convicted Australian bank robber and heroin addict escapes from Pentridge Prison and flees to India. The novel is commended by many for its vivid portrayal of life in Bombay in the early to late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgar Wright</span> English filmmaker (born 1974)

Edgar Howard Wright is an English filmmaker and actor. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zooms and a signature editing style that includes transitions, whip pans and wipes. He began making independent short films before making his first feature film A Fistful of Fingers in 1995. Wright created and directed the comedy series Asylum in 1996, written with David Walliams. After directing several other television shows, Wright directed the sitcom Spaced (1999–2001), which aired for two series and starred frequent collaborators Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Derrickson</span> American filmmaker (born 1966)

Scott Derrickson is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work in the horror genre, directing films such as The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), Sinister (2012) and The Black Phone (2021). He is also known for the superhero film Doctor Strange (2016), based on the Marvel Comics character.

<i>Grindhouse</i> (film) 2007 double-feature film consisting of Planet Terror and Death Proof

Grindhouse is a 2007 American film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. Presented as a double feature, it combines Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. The former stars Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Josh Brolin, and Marley Shelton; the latter stars Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Zoë Bell. Grindhouse pays homage to exploitation films of the 1970s, with its title deriving from the now-defunct theaters that would show such films. As part of its theatrical presentation, Grindhouse also features fictitious exploitation trailers directed by Rodriguez, Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, Eli Roth, and Jason Eisener.

Stephen Norrington is an English filmmaker and special effects artist known for his work in the horror and action genres. Beginning his career as a sculptor and makeup artist, he worked under Dick Smith, Rick Baker, and Stan Winston on a number of well-known, effects-driven films of the 1980s and 90s. His directorial credits include the cult sci-fi horror film Death Machine and the comic book adaptations Blade and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He portrayed Michael Morbius in the alternate ending to Blade.

<i>Ant-Man</i> (film) 2015 Marvel Studios film

Ant-Man is a 2015 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name: Scott Lang and Hank Pym. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 12th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Peyton Reed from a screenplay by the writing teams of Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, and Adam McKay and Paul Rudd. It stars Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man alongside Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip "T.I." Harris, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, David Dastmalchian, and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym. In the film, Lang must help defend Pym's Ant-Man shrinking technology and plot a heist with worldwide ramifications.

The Divergent Series is a feature film series based on the Divergent novels by the American author Veronica Roth. Distributed by Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate Films, the series consists of three science fiction action films set in a dystopian society: Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant. They have been produced by Lucy Fisher, Pouya Shabazian, and Douglas Wick.

Scott Lang (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Scott Lang is a fictional character portrayed by Paul Rudd in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name and known commonly by his alias, Ant-Man. He is depicted as a thief-turned-superhero after being granted access to Hank Pym's technology and training, specifically the use of an advanced suit that allows him to change sizes, as well as communicate with ants. He is recruited by Steve Rogers to join the Avengers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two</span> 2013–2015 group of superhero films

Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The phase began in 2013 with the release of Iron Man 3 and concluded in 2015 with the release of Ant-Man. It includes the crossover film Avengers: Age of Ultron, also released in 2015. Kevin Feige produced every film in the phase. The six films of the phase grossed over US$5.2 billion at the global box office and received generally positive critical and public response.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quentin Tarantino's unrealized projects</span>

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Rodriguez's unrealized projects</span> List of unproduced Robert Rodriguez projects

The following is a list of unproduced Robert Rodriguez projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, film director Robert Rodriguez 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 or fell apart in development.

<i>Borderlands</i> (film) Upcoming film by Eli Roth

Borderlands is an upcoming American science fiction action comedy film directed by Eli Roth, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Crombie, based on the video game series of the same name developed by Gearbox Software. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramírez, Ariana Greenblatt, Bobby Lee, Florian Munteanu, Gina Gershon, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

References

  1. ↑ Shaun of the Dead 2: Why The Vampire Sequel Never Happened
  2. ↑ In the Spider-Verse, there's a Shaun Of The Dead sequel and a Clone High movie
  3. ↑ Total Film – Interview with Jessica Stevenson – September 2021
  4. ↑ Masters, Kim; Kit, Borys (May 28, 2014). "Why 'Ant-Man' Director Edgar Wright Exited Marvel's Superhero Movie". The Hollywood Reporter . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  5. ↑ "MARVEL STUDIOS & EDGAR WRIGHT STATEMENT". Marvel. May 23, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  6. ↑ Tapley, Kristopher (June 22, 2017). "Playback: Edgar Wright on 'Baby Driver,' Music and Walking Away From 'Ant-Man'". Variety. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  7. ↑ Rosen, Christopher (6 January 2015). "Watch The First Trailer For Marvel's 'Ant-Man' (It's Too Late To Change The Name)". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Yamato, Jen (April 7, 2007). "Edgar Wright's "Don't" Trailer Could Be "Grindhouse 2"". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 27, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  9. ↑ RT-News (May 4, 2007). "Roth Wants Full Length "Thanksgiving" for "Grindhouse 3"". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on June 5, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  10. ↑ Disney Taps Edgar Wright To Helm Johnny Depp In 'The Night Stalker' Feature Redo
  11. ↑ D.V. DeVincentis Sinks Teeth Into 'The Night Stalker' For Edgar Wright And Johnny Depp
  12. ↑ ‘Ant-Man’ / Edgar Wright Lessons: Kevin Feige’s Vision Rules Marvel; Time To Get Excited About ‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker’?
  13. ↑ Edgar Wright To Direct Paramount's 'Collider,' Mark Protosevich To Write
  14. ↑ "Edgar Wright to Direct 'Grasshopper Jungle' Movie for Sony". Deadline Hollywood . July 25, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  15. ↑ Ritman, Alex (August 20, 2014). "Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright Eyeing New Film Trilogy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  16. ↑ Edgar Wright Rewriting Steampunk ‘Oliver Twist’ Sequel ‘Dodge and Twist’
  17. ↑ "Johnny Depp in Talks for Edgar Wright-Helmed Neil Gaiman adaptation". Variety . October 23, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Edgar Wright & David Walliams' animated film in limbo". Denofgeek.com. June 14, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  19. ↑ Hall, Jacob (December 5, 2017). "'Baby Driver' Sequel "Being Hammered Out," Edgar Wright Plans to Write the Screenplay". /Film. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  20. ↑ Travis, Ben; Nugent, John (January 21, 2019). "Edgar Wright's Next Film Is A Psychological Horror, Plus Baby Driver 2 Update – Exclusive". Empire. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  21. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (July 30, 2019). "Ansel Elgort and Edgar Wright Tease 'Baby Driver 2' Likely Happening Soon". Collider. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  22. ↑ Aubrey, Elizabeth (January 30, 2021). "Edgar Wright confirms 'Baby Driver 2' script is complete". NME . Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Edgar Wright to Tackle Robot Story 'Set My Heart to Five'". The Hollywood Reporter. March 31, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  24. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 18, 2020). "Universal Acquires Adrian McKinty Novel 'The Chain,' With Edgar Wright Directing & Jane Goldman Writing". Deadline. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  25. ↑ Kit, Borys (March 24, 2010). ""Incredibles" director on "Mission: Impossible" list". Reuters . Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  26. ↑ Rosenberg, Adam (March 25, 2010). "'Mission: Impossible 4' Possible Directors Include Brad Bird, Edgar Wright And Ruben Fleischer". MTV News . Retrieved September 21, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.