Films that Director's Never Got to Make or Wanted

1995 "Foundation" (was linked to the project at one point)

2002 "Batman: Year One" (before "Batman Begins", he worked on his reboot with Frank Miller).
2004 "Lone Wolf and Cub" (has been in production hell for ages)
2006 "X-men: The Last Stand (was considered to direct, but declined).
2009 "Watchmen" (was considered to direct by studio heads)
2011 "The Wolverine" (was original choice, but he left project because he had to leave U.S. for too long and was not comfortable leaving his family).
2013 "Man of Steel" (was considered to direct by studio heads)
2016 "X-men: Gambit" (was considered to direct by studio heads, but he declined)

2001 "Planet of the Apes" (was considered by studio to direct)
2002 "The Red Dragon" (turned it down)
2003 "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (pulled out of the project due to scheduling conflicts)
2004 "Van Helsing" (turned it down)
2004 "King Arthur" (was to direct, but dropped out)
2004 "Man on Fire" (turned it down)
2006 "Superman Returns" (was considered by studio to direct)
2009 "Watchmen" (was considered by studio to direct)

1989 "New Rose Hotel" (was set to direct it)

1995 "Godzilla" (was original choice to make the first American version, but his story was so expensive to make that the studio rejected it and the project was temporarily shelved)
1995 "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" (planned to direct a remake of the 1952 classic after taking over from Renny Harlin, the project fell through)
1999 "The Adaptive Ultimate" (was to star Nicole Kidman)
2002 "Minority Report" (original director but Steven Spielberg sacked him and did it himself, probably due to the failure of "The Haunting" remake)

1996 "Our Friends in the North (TV miniseries)" (was originally set to direct it, but decided to focus on films instead of T.V. projects)
1997 "Alien: Resurrection" (passed on it to do "A Life Less Ordinary")
1997 "The Full Monty" (passed on it as he didn't find the script interesting)
1999 "Fight Club" (was asked to direct it, but was busy with "The Beach")
2002 "8 Mile" (asked to direct it, but too busy with "28 Days Later")

1995 "V for Vendetta" (was considered for the gig)
2004 "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (was considered for the gig)

1936 Conan: Fire & Ice (never got further than planning stage due to creator Robert E. Howard's untimely and tragic death)

1966 Un Chien Andalou II (rejected offer from Salvador Dali to make sequel to his silent film short masterpiece)

1985 After Hours (backed out when Martin Scorsese became interested in project)
1986 The Fly (was to star Michael Keaton but he backed out)
1995 Catwoman (long rumored to direct it with Michelle Pfeiffer, but nothing happened with it when Joel Schumacher got the gig to do "Batman Forever")
1996 Spawn (backed out)
1997 Superman Lives (was to star Nicolas Cage but studio never greenlit it)
2000 X-men (was considered by studio)
2006 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (backed out
2009 Watchmen (showed interest in doing it)

2000 "X-men" (wanted to make a movie with Kathryn Bigelow).
2000 "Spider-Man" (wrote screenplay, but was turned down by studio as they saw his version as being too violent and adult and not family friendly. Sam Raimi got the gig instead.)
2000 "Planet of the Apes" (wrote screenplay, but his script was turned down and instead a new script was written and project taken over by Tim Burton).
2002 "Solaris" (considered directing it, but opted to produce instead).
2012 "The Amazing Spider-Man" (was considered doing the reboot by the studios but he declined saying the "train had left already".

Wanted to make a film about the life of Saint Paul with Frank Sinatra in the title role

Wanted to make "Soviet", a film about an American engineer building a dam in Russia. It was to star Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery, but the production was cancelled.

1981 "Halloween II" (forced to write it, but refused to direct it because didn't want to make the same film again, sadly didn't remember this when he did "Escape from L.A.)
1984 "Firestarter" (was original supposed to direct, but was replaced after "The Thing" did poorly at the box office)
1986 "The Golden Child" (was offered to direct, but he turned it down)
1986 "Top Gun" (turned it down)
1986 "Armed and Dangerous" (turned it down)
1987 "Fatal Attraction" (turned it down)
1990 "The Exorcist III" (turned it down)
2008 "Mutant Chronicle" (was given chance to direct, but declined)
2009 "Zombieland" (turned it down)

1994 "Daredevil" (originally slated to direct it)
1995 "Fantastic Four" (was attached to direct it)
2002 "Spider-Man" (considered directing it however passed that up to direct the first "Harry Potter" movie)
2003 "Daredevil" (during early stages were originally attached to direct it)

1969 "Easy Rider" (was offered the job, but he declined)

1987 "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (was set to direct it, but was replaced after creative differences with star Christopher Reeve)

1983 "Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi" (one of the big name directors who were approached to direct the film, but he declined).
1986 "Top Gun" (turned down the project)
1987 "RoboCop" (turned down the project)
1990 "Total Recall" (wrote several drafts and was set to direct before Paul Verhoeven took over the project).

1995 "The Perez Family" (was the original director of the film, but pulled out before the production started)
1997 "Addicted to Love" (rejected it to work on "A Little Princess" instead)
2002 "Hart's War" (was set to direct and write it, but went on to do "Y tu mama tambien" instead)
2003 "The Runaway Jury" (attached to direct it, but after a few months left the project)
2008 "Speed Racer" (was attached to direct with Johnny Depp in the lead, but he left the project)
2012 "Life of Pi" (was set to direct it, but decided to do "Children of Men" instead)
2013 "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (was considered to direct it)
2014 "Fantastic Beasts....." (passed on the project)
2017 "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (was considered to direct it)

1956 "Serenade" (was attached to direct at one point)

1995 "The Phantom" (was set to direct it with Billy Zane before the production was delayed, replaced by Simon Wincer)

1959 Planned to produce and direct an epic movie about the creation of the Boy Scouts starring James Stewart but he died before it went into production.

1957 "The Shadow on the Window" (was originally set to direct)

1950s "Ivan the Terrible, Part III" (was planned, but problems with Soviet censorships on the second one and his own death stopped it)

1998 "Stargate II" (wanted to do it, but TV series ruined any possibility for a straight-forward sequel)
2002 "Die Another Day" (turned it down)
2002 "Spider-Man" (was considered by studio to do it)
2007 "Transformers" (was interested to do it, but Dreamworks wanted Michael Bay with Spielberg producing).

1966 "The Journey of G. Mastorna" (was abandoned but the storyline was later adapted into a graphic novel)
1980 "Flash Gordon" (producer Dino DeLaurentiis wanted him to direct the film)

2004 "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (declined and went to do "Finding Neverland" instead).
2005 "Brokeback Mountain" (turned down the project)

1974 Planned to make a movie about aliens and the myth of Atlantis but when Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" went into production, he decided to make a remake of "The Wages of Fear" instead ("Sorcerer")
1997 "The Ripper Diaries", thriller starring Anthony Hopkins as Jack the Ripper never went into production.

1975 All This and World War 3 (backed out - project about Beatles)
1985 Enemy Mine (turned down offer)
1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit (turned down offer)
1994 Forrest Gump (turned down offer)
1995 Braveheart (turned down offer)
1997 Alien: Resurrection (turned down offer)
2001 The Man who Killed Don Quiote (dream project ruined by thousands of things. Would have starred Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis and Jean Rouchefort. Watch documentary to see everything go to hell)
2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (J.K. Rowling reportedly wanted Gilliam to direct but studio decided on someone a little more family friendly)
2004 Troy (turned down offer)
2007 Good Omens (it went to development hell)
2009 Watchmen (considered doing it but only as a 12-part series for cable TV)

1969 "Bonnie & Clyde" (was offered it, but refused to do it)

1978 "Superman" (original choice for film but when the production moved to England instead of Italy he had to bow out).

1991 "Gale Force" (remake of "Key Largo" was planned, but nothing happened with it)
1991 "Torpedo" (gangster film set in 1939 was planned, but nothing happened with it)
1991 "The Saint" (was offered, but nothing happened with it)
1992 "Fade (film with Steven Spielberg producing, but nothing happened with it)
1992 "Alien 3" (worked on it for over a year before asking to leave because the script was not satisfactory).
1994 "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" (wanted to make a remake of the film however commitments to "Cutthroat Island" forced him to back out)
1994 "Speed" (turned it down)
1995 "GoldenEye" (turned it down because he felt he had done too many sequels already)
1997 "Frequency" (was in line to direct with Sylvester Stallone to star, but allegedly Stallone asked too much to play it and the project was scrapped).
2008 "Outlander (was originally set to direct it)

1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (had the chance to direct but declined according to himself)
1978 Gates of Heaven (pet cemetery film that he talked about doing for ages and promised to eat his shoe if some film student did his film before himself. He had to eat his shoe)
2005 Brokeback Mountain (had the chance to direct but declined according to himself)

1971 "The Drifters" (reworked into "Hard Times" after movie fell apart. Sam Peckinpah considered it as well before moving to "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid")
1977 "The Gauntlet" (had an interest in doing the film with Kris Kristofferson in the leading role)
1977 "The Last Gun"
1979 "Alien" (was originally meant to direct the movie)
1981 "Lone Star" (planned to do it with Sigourney Weaver and Powers Boothe)
1981 "The Last Good Kiss" (based upon a novel by James Crumley)
1981 "Pop. 1280 (adaptation of Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
1984 "The Magnificent Seven" (wanted to do a remake)
1989 "American Iron" (biker movie)
1990 "Dick Tracy" (was attached to direct with Joel Silver producing. Film was stalled when artistic control issues arose with Warren Beatty. Hill wanted to make the film realistic and violent while Beatty wanted it to stay true to the 1930s comic strip)
1993 "The Fugitive" (wanted to direct it with Nick Nolte in the leading role but studio deemed him too old)
1997 "Red, White, Black and Blue"
1999 "The Killer" (was originally set to direct the remake of John Woo's classic actioner with Richard Gere in the title role and with Denzel Washington in a supporting role. Due to creative conflicts he left the project).
2000 "Vengeance of Mine" (thriller set in Las Vegas)

1936 The Bombing of London (script too controversial and shelved)
1940 Escape (WW2 drama to star Conrad Veidt, Robert Taylor and Norma Shearer as rights to book was bought by MGM and Hitchcock working for Louis B. Mayer was impossible).
1940s 39 Steps II (a kind of follow-up project starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman was planned but he never got the rights from the writer's estate as it proved to be too
expensive).
1940s Hamlet (a modern time version was scrapped due to fear for a lawsuit. The project was planned to star Cary Grant).
1945 Documentary about Nazi crimes and their concentration camps (unfinished but some scenes are to be found in film "Night will Fall" (2014) and "Memory of the Camps" (2014)
1953 The Bamble Bush (adaptation of novel by David Duncan was killed as none of the screen writers could meet Hitchcock wishes of an extraordinary script)
1956 Flamingo Feather (Political thriller set in South Africa would star James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Probably shelved as Kelly got married to Monaco's Rainier).
1959 The Wreck of the Mary Deare (was to star Gary Cooper but after numerous try at a script it was deemed that the movie would become a boring court room drama and killed).
1960 No Bail for the Judge (adaptation of novel by Henry Cecil would have starred Audrey Hepburn, Laurence Harvey and John Williams but it seems he lost interest in it when Hepburn ended up pregnant and had to bail out of the movie)
1961 Untitled Disneyland thriller starring James Stewart (killed as Walt Disney banned Hitchcock from ever getting involved with their products after seeing "Psycho".)
1963 Trap for a Solitary Man (a "Lady Vanishes" project based upon the French play Piege Pour un Homme Seul by M. Robert Thomas was planned by never happened).
1964 The Three Hostages (hypnosis thriller where Hitchcock abandoned the project as unfilmable).
1964 Mary Rose (based upon J.M. Barrie's novel. Hitchcock said himself that Universal did not allow him to make this project).
1979 The Short Night (failing health and death, only script published by main writer David Freeman. Possible stars would have been Sean Connery or Clint Eastwood as leads and Liv Ullmann or Catherine Deneuve would probably have starred in it).

1976 "To the Devil: a Daughter" (was considered to direct it)
1978 "Damien: Omen II" (was the original director, but after three weeks of shooting left the film due to creative differences. Hodges directed the film's military and factory scenes).

1981 "Wolfen" (rejected it)
1982 "E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial" (was offered the script but turned it down and made "Poltergeist" instead)

2002 D-Tox (was interested but decided to direct "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" instead)

1983 Never Say Never Again (there were talks, but he refused to direct it because he was afraid producer Albert R. Broccoli would consider him a traitor - and considering the twists regarding this film he probably would have).

1990 "Night of the Living Dead" (was asked to direct, but turned it down to work on "Narrow Margin" with Gene Hackman and Anne Archer).
2001 "Hellboy" (was considered before Guillermo del Toro was involved)

1990 "Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III" (was offered to direct it)
1991 "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" (was offered to direct it)
1991 "Child's Play 3" (was offered to direct it)
1992 "Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth" (was offered to direct it)
1995 "Halloween: Curse of Michael Myers" (was offered to direct it)
1997 "Alien: Resurrection" (was offered to direct it)
1998 "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" (was offered to direct it)
2001 "Planet of the Apes" (was considered to direct it)
2003 "Freddy vs. Jason" (was offered to direct it)
2004 "Exorcist: The Beginning (was offered to direct it)
2015 "Star Wars: The Force Awakens (was considered to direct it)

1992 "Malcolm X" (was the original director but forced to withdraw from the project due to outside pressure demanding that the film to be made by an African American film-maker)

1995 "Forbidden Planet" (was due to start production but project dropped due to budgetary founding problems)

1950/60s I Stole 16 Million Dollars (script was seen as poor and Kirk Douglas refused to do it)
1950/60s The German Soldier (WW2 project, unreleased screenplay
1950/60s The Mosby Rangers (cancelled as the script told about an incestous relationship)
1969 The Lord of the Rings (approached by the Beatles but he saw it as unfilmable. Beatles would probably have played the Hobbits)
1970s Napoleon (planned big historic epic - it's cancellation took him to do "Barry Lyndon" and some war scenes planned for this project was put in that film. Napoleon would have starred Jack Nicholson as Napoleon and probably Audrey Hepburn as Josephine).
1988 Foucault's Pendulum (denied production by writer Umberto Eco who hated the movie version of "The Name of the Rose")
1993 Aryan Papers (shelved when Spielberg released "Schindler's List")
2001 A.I (died during pre-production, finished by Steven Spielberg)
2001 Pinocchio (wanted to make a movie for whole family and especially children before death).

1960s "Jeanne Moreau vehicle" (wrote screenplay)
1960s "A Murder of Quality" (based upon John le Carre's novel, was discussed with author but nothing came out of it)
1970s "Hippie movie" (planned to do this film prior to his death)

1955 "Journey into Space" (expressed an interest to do a film version of the BBC science fiction radio serial)
1987 "Empire of the Sun" (originally wanted to do it, but he passed the project over to Steven Spielberg in order to concentrate on his other passion project "Nostromo")
1991 "Nostromo" (adaptation of the novel by Joseph Conrad. He wrote the screenplay and the film was budget with $46 million dollars. Dennis Quaid, Isabella Rossellini, Julian Sands, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Irene Papas and Christopher Lambert were to have starring roles. Everything was set to be filmed with a replacement director (Guy Hamilton) if he should die during the shoot, but Lean was diagnosed with throat cancer before filming and shooting was postponed indefinitely.

1995 "V for Vendetta" (was an early choice to direct it, but luckily that didn't happen)

1960s "Journey to the End of the Night" (wanted to adopt the novel, but it never went to production and segments were reused into his westerns)
1960s "The Phantom" (started write screenplay and scouted locations but nothing more happened with it)
1960s "Mandrake the Magician" (stated he wanted to follow his "The Phantom" project with this one)
1968 "Hang 'Em High" (was asked to direct it, but he went on to make "Once Upon a Time in the West" instead)
1970s "Gone With the Wind" (wanted to direct a remake that was closer to the original novel, but it never advanced to anything really serious)
1972 "The Godfather" (was asked to direct it, but he wanted to do his own mobster movie that turned out to be "Once Upon a Time in America")
1980 "Flash Gordon" (was an early choice to direct, but turned it down as he thought the script did not resemble the original comic book)
1980s "A Place Only Mary Knows" (western starring Richard Gere and Mickey Rourke set during the American Civil War he died before anything happened)
1982 "Once Upon a time in Russia" (was planned as the third chapter in a trilogy about the siege of Leningrad and he planned to make a war epic starring Robert deNiro about an American trapped in Russia during WW2. It was in production hell for a long time before he suddenly died and the project was scapped)
1987 "Colt Revolver" (was to be a TV miniseries but was abandoned)

2004 "Alexander: The Great" (planned to make it with Leonardo Di Caprio as the lead, but was dropped due to Oliver Stone's film)

1983 "Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi" (turned it down, but George Lucas did offer him to make the original trilogy's ending, did decide to make his own sci-fi epic with "Dune".)
1980s "Hand Carved Cuffins" (turned it down, Dino DeLaurentiis offered him the chance to direct, based on Truman Capote's works)
1986 "Manhunter" (was offered to direct)
1990s "Twin Peaks chapter II & III in trilogy" (was planned but scrapped after disastrous reviews and viewings in the U.S. who knows what would have happened instead, but returned to the story with a "rethinking" of it 25 years later)

2000 Planned to make a movie about drug-trafficking but scrapped the film when "Traffic" was released.