Animals were harmed in these films
The cancellation of 'Batgirl' isn't the first time the hearts of superhero fans have been broken. Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe dominated pop culture, director Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man' films starring Tobey Maguire ruled the superhero market.
'Gods Behaving Badly,' originally slated for a 2013 release, starred Christopher Walken as Zeus, Sharon Stone as Aphrodite, and Edie Falco as Artemis, among many other beloved names. Unfortunately, an all-star cast wasn't enough to save this mythological satire from an unfunny and unreadable script.
The Marvel super squad known as the Fantastic 4 have seen their fair share of silver screen depictions, although most have fallen short of expectations. One of the first attempts to put the super squad on screen was a low-budget B-movie project that was completed in its entirety and set for a global release.
Canned, supposedly mere months before it was to be released, was DC Films' 'Batgirl,' which starred Leslie Grace (pictured) and was set to include Michael Keaton's return in the role of Batman after two decades.
The New York Times first reported on the damning accusations of sexual misconduct against Louis C.K. just one week before the film's release date, and all support for the film was dropped worldwide in just one day.
Jerry Lewis was once one of the most popular comedic actors in America, although he did stir up perhaps more than his fair share of controversy.
Just weeks later, Rachel Wood quit the production to focus on her pregnancy, and with legal battles over Rachel Wood's alleged breach of contract, the project was shelved indefinitely.
Today, Quentin Tarantino is considered one of the best American directors of the modern era, but even he dealt with production issues when he was just getting started. Tarantino's first film, an amateur, no-budget comedy affair starring himself and his personal friends and colleagues, was filmed over the course of four years in the 1980s.
Just three days after finishing filming for Martin Scorsese's 1976 masterpiece 'Taxi Driver,' Robert de Niro was all set up for another win in a Mike Nichols film called 'Bogart Slept Here.'
Russ Meyer, of 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' fame, was set to direct, and Fox Studios initially provided funding, but after only three days of filming Fox pulled out of the deal and the entire project fell apart.
Unfortunately, creative differences between Burton, studio executives, and scriptwriter Kevin Smith soon made progress on the film impossible. After more than a year in pre-production, with US$30 million thrown into the project, Warner Brothers abandoned the project altogether. It was a particular pity for Cage, who is such a fan of the character that he named one of his sons Kal-El.
Legendary and prolific director Stanley Kubrick began a painstaking research process for an expansive biopic about Napoleon Bonaparte as soon as 1976's sci-fi masterpiece '2001: A Space Odyssey' went into post-production.
Disgraced actor Kevin Spacey starred in a biopic about prolific writer Gore Vidal, set for a 2017 release, that never saw the light of day.
Considered by many cinephiles to be one of the greatest gods of filmmaking, Russian auteur Andrei Tarkovsky submitted a script to the Soviet government in the 1970s about Russian life under the rule of tsar Peter the Great.
The year was 1999, and '10 Things I Hate About You' became an instant rom-com classic and cemented Heath Ledger as one of America's favorite heartthrobs. More than a decade later, in 2012, a spiritual sequel titled '10 Things I Hate About Life,' set to star Evan Rachel Wood, began production.
Until, that is, Marvel executive Avi Arad bought all rights to the film, sent a cease and desist order to its cast and crew, and proceeded to destroy as many copies of the film as possible, fearing that a low-budget movie would tarnish the reputation of the franchise.
After the film's premiere screening at the Rome Film Festival, critics and filmmakers agreed that no one else should see the decidedly awful film, and 'Gods Behaving Badly' was never seen by anyone again.
After three wildly successful films, Sony Studios were itching for a fourth moneymaker, and Raimi was initially on board, until he decided the time constraints imposed by Sony wouldn't allow him to produce a film that met his own standards of quality. After Raimi backed out, the project was shelved indefinitely.
Filming had completed and the movie had entered post-production before new management at DC Films decided they wanted to can the project, much to the dismay and confusion of Batgirl fans and everyone who worked on the film.
Before Louis C.K. became the disgraced figure we know today, he was loved by many around the world, and getting a film produced and released was no problem for the comedian. The timing of the accusations against C.K., however, didn't work out so well in relation to the release of his 2017 film 'I Love You, Daddy.'
In the late 1970s, legendary film critic Roger Ebert wrote a screenplay for a film starring the Sex Pistols titled 'Who Killed Bambi?' at the behest of the Sex Pistols' manager, Malcolm McLaren.
'Superman Lives,' originally slated for a 1998 release, could have been the greatest Superman movie ever made, had it actually been made. Riding on the momentum of his wildly popular 'Batman' films, Tim Burton recruited Nicolas Cage to star as the titular Kryptonian.
'The Graduate' director was initially thrilled to have de Niro on set, but it soon became clear that de Niro's nuanced style of method acting wasn't compatible with the film's calculated and humorous script. After only a few days of filming, de Niro was fired, and the project was shelved. Some years later, screenwriter Neil Simon (pictured) reworked his vision and 'Bogart Slept Here' became 1977's 'The Goodbye Girl.'
One of his less wise career moves was to direct and star in an early 1970s comedy film called 'The Day the Clown Cried,' a movie about a circus clown in a Nazi concentration camp. Even in the early 1970s, the film was considered wildly insensitive and too topically inappropriate for release. After a test screening, it was decided best if the film was abandoned.
Once filming was finally finished, Tarantino could only find around 30 minutes of footage he was actually satisfied with to fill out his 70-minute-long script, and he decided to abandon the project altogether.
Filming had wrapped up and the film had entered post-production, but after the news of Spacey's horrendous history of sexual misconduct came to light, the project was immediately shut down.
Set to star Jack Nicholson as Napoleon and Audrey Hepburn as Empress Josephine, the film looked to be a surefire smash hit, but the exorbitant costs of filming on location in France and Romania soon caused the project to collapse.
However, the script approved by the Soviet censor was not the same script Tarkovsky intended to film. The real script contained numerous scenes that were critical of Soviet policy and could easily be seen as "counterrevolutionary." During filming, the Soviet censor caught on to the true nature of the project, and ordered production to be halted. In a fit of rage, Tarkovsky reportedly destroyed all of the footage he had filmed and abandoned the project entirely.
Channing Tatum's rise to stardom is long and heartwarming, but the 'Magic Mike' star has also dealt with his fair share of disappointment. Tatum was just about to break into the exciting and wildly lucrative world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe until a change in management squashed his prospects.
Before Disney bought out Fox Studios, Tatum was slated for the titular role in 'Gambit,' an X-Men offshoot film. Unfortunately, once Disney took over, they immediately scrapped the project.
Sources: (Metro) (The Independent) (Looper)
See also: Actors who were forced to play roles against their will
The movie business is just as fickle as it is demanding. Pulling off a big Hollywood production involves so many moving parts, countless individuals, and so much funding, all of which come with their own issues. When you really think about it, it's amazing movies get made at all! Usually, the film industry is good at finishing what it starts, but sometimes the only option seems to be to abandon ship. Whether due to feuds between cast members, industry politics, public scandals, or funding issues, there have been more than a few films that were never destined for the big screen.
Intrigued? Read on to learn about the biggest movies that got canceled before their release.
Scrapped cinema: Films that went into production but never saw the light of day
Certain movies apparently weren't meant to be made
MOVIES Film
The movie business is just as fickle as it is demanding. Pulling off a big Hollywood production involves so many moving parts, countless individuals, and so much funding, all of which come with their own issues. When you really think about it, it's amazing movies get made at all! Usually, the film industry is good at finishing what it starts, but sometimes the only option seems to be to abandon ship. Whether due to feuds between cast members, industry politics, public scandals, or funding issues, there have been more than a few films that were never destined for the big screen.
Intrigued? Read on to learn about the biggest movies that got canceled before their release.