The term “passion project” can either be a positive or negative one for prominent filmmakers. While some films that fought through years of development end up becoming masterpieces, such as Martin Scorsese’s Silence or George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, others go the disastrous route of Colin Trevorrow's The Book of Henry. Anytime that a filmmaker stays true to their original vision for many years signifies that they want to see their project through to the end; however, there’s no guarantee that what they end up with is made for a slightly broader audience. Many of these legendary “passion projects” sadly never even had the chance to face that judgment.

In the fast and furious world of studio filmmaking, films are put in development and then scrapped for various reasons. Sometimes directors choose to do other projects, budgets balloon past reasonable proportions, scheduling constraints create a barrier, or the passion simply dies out. As we saw recently with the Batgirl controversy, completing a film doesn’t even guarantee that it will be released. Some ideas are set aside for a justified reason, but unfortunately ambitious films are often too ahead of their time for anyone to give them a shot. These scrapped movies we have have really liked to see.

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Steven Spielberg's George Gershwin Movie

Zachary Quinto in AHS American Horror Story
Image via FX

Steven Spielberg often returns to the biopic genre, having covered famous figures in masterpieces like Schindler’s List, Lincoln, Bridge of Spies, and The Post. Shortly after Zachary Quinto landed his breakout role in 2009’s Star Trek, Spielberg cast the rising star in a film about the life of the legendary American composer George Gershwin. Considering Spielberg’s insistence on historical accuracy and Quinto’s impressive dramatic range, the film had the potential to be a future classic, but sadly Spielberg chose to develop other projects instead.

Martin Scorsese's Frank Sinatra Biopic

Jordan Belfort standing amid a celebration at his office in The Wolf of Wall Street.
Image via Paramount Pictures

Understandably, the life of the legendary singer and actor Frank Sinatra has been one that Hollywood has been hesitant about bringing to the screen. Sinatra is synonymous with so many iconic songs, films, and plays that it would be hard for any single film to do him justice. However, if there was ever any creative duo that could pull it off, it seemed like Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio would be the ones to pull it off. While Scorsese was enthusiastic about a script from Captain Phillips screenwriter Billy Ray, the film ultimately had to be scrapped due to issues with Sinatra’s estate.

Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon

Jack Nicholson as Eugene O'Neill in Reds
Image via Paramount Pictures

Ridley Scott will be bringing Napoleon's story to life with Joaquin Phoenix in the leading role, but he wasn’t the only all-time great filmmaker to take a stab at chronicling the career of the French icon. Stanley Kubrick’s ambitious plan for a Napoleon film is often cited as “the greatest movie never made,” as Kubrick made extensive diaries detailing one of the largest projects in history. With plans to cast Jack Nicholson as the title character and perhaps the biggest budget of his career, Kubrick’s vision sadly fell apart when he was unable to receive funding. However, he did emerge from the disappointment to make another great historical epic with Barry Lyndon.

Guillermo del Toro's The Hobbit

Bilbo, Gandalf, and the 13 Dwarves traverse a mountain path in The Hobbit
Image via Warner Bros. 

One of the reasons that Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy felt like such a chaotic mess is that Jackson had never intended to return to Middle-earth. Originally, Guillermo del Toro had been set on directing the Lord of the Rings prequel as a two-part adventure that would have utilized his signature practical effects and creative world building. Del Toro had the chance to offer a version of Middle-earth that was familiar, yet also scary and different, but the development process dragged on. Del Toro ultimately chose to leave and continue working on original movies, leaving Jackson to make a hasty return.

Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune

Rebecca Ferguson in Dune
Image via Warner Bros.

The bizarre work of the Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky are about as far away from “mainstream” as you can get; while films like El Topo and The Holy Mountain may not be everyone’s cup of tea, they were among the first arthouse projects that gained serious traction in the midnight screening venue of the 1970s. As chronicled in the incredible documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, Jodorowsky put together an incredible team of VFX artists, designers, and musicians for an adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel that would reportedly be 14 hours long. With painstaking detail paid to the artwork and a deal for Orson Welles to appear as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Jodorowsky’s Dune would have been unlike anything else. However, a failure to secure the rights ultimately led to a Dune film from another surrealist filmmaker when David Lynch made his first adaptation in 1984.

Quentin Tarantino's The Vega Brothers

Vincent and Jules aiming guns in Pulp Fiction
Image via Miramax Films

Quentin Tarantino has hinted that his films take place in the same universe, but he’s yet to do a full on crossover. However, Tarantino had an idea to complete an unofficial trilogy by creating The Vega Brothers prequel, starring Michael Madsen as Reservoir Dogs’ Vic Vega and John Travolta as Pulp Fiction’s Vincent Vega. Tarantino ultimately became too busy on other projects, and chose to not pursue The Vega Brothers because the actors had aged out of their roles.

Christopher Nolan's Howard Hughes Biopic

Jim Carrey in The Office
Image via NBC

When Christopher Nolan says that something “is the best thing I’ve ever written,” it’s bound to attract interest. Nolan wanted to make his first biopic right after the success of Memento and Insomnia when he cast Jim Carrey as Howard Hughes. The only problem? Scorsese and DiCaprio got their first with The Aviator, and Nolan chose not to work on a competing Hughes biopic.

David Lynch's Ronnie Rocket

Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle Maclachlan) from Twin Peaks gives a thumbs up
Image via ABC

Ronnie Rocket is almost impossible to describe, which is perusal when talking about David Lynch. Lynch’s bizarre concept for Ronnie Rocket was a dual narrative about an unnamed detective trying to stop and wicked industrialist from turning citizens into mindless shells, followed by the story of the titular Ronnie Rocket, an aspiring rock star that needed to be plugged into a socket every 15 minutes. Considering Lynch’s track record this probably would have been absolutely brilliant, but despite numerous attempts throughout different stages of career it never came to be.

David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises 2

David Cronenberg’s grizzly crime thriller Eastern Promises was a modern classic that earned Viggo Mortensen his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The film’s ending left the door open for additional installments, and screenwriter Steven Knight wrote a script that both Cronenberg and Knight were enthusiastic about. Cronenberg cited budgetary concerns from Focus Features as the reason for the project’s cancellation; it is now being reworked as an original movie starring Jason Statham.

Darren Aronofsky's Batman: Year One

Robert Pattinson in 'The Batman'
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Is there anyone more suited for the dark and gritty aesthetic of Gotham City than Darren Aronofsky? Aronofsky’s films are notoriously difficult to watch due to their extreme content, and his vision for Batman: Year One was so intense that it would’ve made The Dark Knight look like Batman & Robin. However, Aronofsky’s insistence on casting Joaquin Phoenix as Bruce Wayne and an R-Rating led to conflicts with Warner Brothers, and the studio chose to pursue other Batman projects instead.

George Miller's Justice League: Mortal

Henry Cavill as Superman in Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Image via Warner Bros.

Long before the controversy over Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the legendary George Miller was Warner Brothers’ choice to bring the superhero team to the big screen. Although the studio already had Batman Begins and Superman Returns in the works, Miller’s Justice League: Mortal would have been set in a different universe with D.J. Cotrona as Superman, Armie Hammer Batman, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, Common as Green Lantern, Adam Brody as The Flash, and Jay Baruchel as Maxwell Lord. After shooting was delayed, the combination of the writer’s strike, issues with the Australian Film Society, and the success of The Dark Knight inspired Warner Brothers to set the project aside.