Arnav Srivastav
Superhero movies are as mainstream as it gets. There is no one on this planet who doesn’t love them. Apart from being a money-minting press, they have a great entertainment value as well. But the purpose of making one isn’t solely money. It’s also spreading a mess..well who am I kidding. It is money. There has been a meteoric rise in the growth of their gross earnings, some of which have also breached the billion mark. With such a wide and eclectic mix of comic characters in the respective universes, studios often fail to decide which one to pursue. As a result, many planned movies get cancelled before even the start of production. Such masterpieces, which remain in the oblivion, obscure to the public eye, have immense potential money wise. Here is the list of cancelled superhero movies, which if released, could have possibly made billions. Happy reading!
10. Spider-Man 4
Imagine a fourth installment in the original series. ‘Spider-Man 3’ almost made a billion on its worldwide release, and there was talk of a fourth one happening. Unfortunately, due to a dispute between Maguire and the studio, it couldn’t materialize into anything substantial and the latter instead opted to reboot with a younger and dasher cast. ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ was very well received, but still couldn’t gross the billion mark. So perhaps, had the studio persisted with their original idea, they could have been richer by a few hundred millions. Drab.
9. Batman: Year One
The image of Batman that has been painted in our empty canvasses hitherto has been that of a messiah and selfless operator. But it’s completely different from that one portrayed in the comics, something they finally had the guts to present in ‘Batman v Superman’ in a limited capacity. Darren Aronofsky was slated to direct the film, being intent on bringing Frank Miller’s infamous character on screen. The caped crusader was planned to be the dark, mean, and cynical individual that he is, but we instead were spoon fed a hopelessly delimited speck of the former. Such a pity Aronofsky couldn’t get a chance to play with a character that vaguely resembles the man himself.
8. James Cameron’s Spider-Man
And that too after ‘Avatar’. Goosebumps, right? I thought so. James Cameron delivered unprecedented and original work in the film, so mesmerizing in every little fabric, that literally made us stand and applaud. People have now set it as a benchmark to hopefully match, and meekly overcome. Cameron got interested in making a film on the iconic Stan Lee character the same time a fourth one was in the buzz. Marvel decided to bypass his intentions and go ahead with their own reboot idea, which I have already talked about. I wish, as we say.
7. Catwoman
As soon as ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ released, a movie featuring just Anne Hathaway in the lead was envisaged. The amazing positive reception for the film, and more importantly, Hathaway’s glamorous turn as the sly superwoman, prompted various ideas. The actress is a star in herself, and would have been perfect to shoulder and carry a movie. Unfortunately, schedule conflicts came in the way, as the lucrative project could never be completed. It is another thing that they have not considered her this time for the film they plan to make of the same character. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?
6. George Miller’s Justice League
These two entities in the same sentence almost brought on an orgasm. But that didn’t last long, as did the production of the film. Miller is a crazy-ass fan of the comic books, which were fundamental in him being even interested in the project. And with the understanding and dexterity that the guy possesses of action sequences, this could have just been the greatest superhero film ever made. Potential billions awaited as everyone became a part of the frenzy and concocted fan theories. It was cancelled in the year 2008 without any specific reasons, sending the fans, including me, into a deep sleepless somber. The nightmares that we had after it getting cancelled still haunt us, time to time.
5. Tarantino’s Iron Man
If you think the kind of swagger and style that Iron Man already has, think of how much it could have augmented and improved had Quentin Tarantino followed his itch. Of all the films in this list, or in the world, this one would have sent the cash register ringing like Tinkerbell’s bell! The money wold have audacious and outrageous, bound to have broken every record there is. The two most appealing brands, for the masses that is, Tarantino and Iron Man, would have been an unbeatable pair. The action sequences certainly would have been much more innovative and fun to watch, oh and Samuel L Jackson would have another chance to entertain us. While you figure that one out, don’t forget to rue the lost oppurtunity for us to witness the mother of all pop-culture references. Well, that could have been*
4. Ang Lee’s Hulk 2
The master auteur had once dreamed of showing the world his version of the green monster. That came true in 2003, when the superhero got his first stand-alone movie, ‘Hulk’. The enormous success could have tempted anyone to write a sequel. But Ang Lee was different. Even before the first film came out, Lee and screen writer, Schamus, had already planned on finalizing a script to continue his exploits in the city. The latter revealed in an interview about the duo’s plans to introduce a “grey hulk”, a.k.a Joe Fixit, for some part of the flick. Alas, the project couldn’t come to fruition and was shelved when Marvel got its rights back, instead choosing to focus on the Avengers and a reboot of the Hulk series. Would have made billions!
3. Superman Returns’ Sequel
Bryan Singer’s delicious superhero flick is still universally viewed as one of the best films made in the series started by Reeves in 1978. The conceptualization of the script and his morals in it had anonymous praise. The sequel would have begun by showing that New Krypton, the giant landmass that Superman threw into space at the end of Superman Returns’, has evolved into a moon that Earthlings can see in the sky. This new moon attracts the attention of another surviving Kryptonian, who comes to Earth and is appalled that Superman, with all of his power, has done nothing to end mass starvation, to create world peace, and so on. This new alien proceeds to “fix” the Earth, winning worldwide acclaim. The proverbial ending substantiated the script. The film, ironically was slated to be titled ‘Man of Steel’. It could never materialize into anything concrete, resulting in it getting cancelled.
2. Burton’s Batman 3
Tim Burton is the undisputed champion of creating memorable characters. His unique way of story-telling through introspective and appealing characters is unmatched. The paragon auteur once bred dreams of getting into the comic business and make one of the most popular characters in the cinematic universe his own. A bit of pre-production concept work was done on an updated costume for Michael Keaton. The script though was extremely dark in nature and the studio felt threatened by its incohesive plot. They replaced him with Schumacher, the film which became ‘Batman Forever’.
1. Hellboy III
Your cue to cry. Me too!
Read More: Best Superhero Movies of All Time
