Top 11+ A-list movies that were never finished – and the reasons why

If you're a film fan, news of a forthcoming blockbuster is guaranteed to get you excited. Because surely every big movie that goes before the camera will be filmed without a hitch, right? Actually no. Because there's a select number of movies out there which might have gone into production but never actually made it past the finish line. In some cases the shutters came down after only a few days, or they never shot a single scene at all.
But why? Read on to find out about some of those movies expected to be box office hits, summer smashes and even Oscar fare - if they'd ever been finished (Picture: Getty/Vision Films/Taschen/Shutterstock)

1. Arrive Alive (1991)

We kick things off with an ill-fated 90s comedy about a detective in a Florida hotel investigating the death of a former champion boxer - only to fall for an exotic dancer along the way. The script, from the same people who penned 80s hit Scrooged, had been knocking around for several years before the film finally went into production in 1990. Willem Dafoe was cast in the lead role after Bill Murray, for whom it was written, passed on it, with Joan Cusack co-starring. However, just a week into filming, producers weren't satisfied with the daily footage and Dafoe quit soon afterwards following script changes which would require him to do more slapstick material. With producers unable to find a replacement for their leading man, the project ground to a permanent halt (Picture: Getty Images)

2. 10 Things I Hate About Life (2014)

This might look like a sequel to the hit comedy 10 Things I Hate About You but it isn't - although this cancelled romcom does share some similar themes with that 1999 hit, including director Gil Junger. Evan Rachel Wood and Thomas McDonnell took the lead roles as two strangers who meet while planning to take their own lives and ultimately fall in love, subsequently both finding a reason to live. But while filming began in late 2012, it was put on hold a couple of months later - reportedly due to Wood's pregnancy - and never it recommenced in spite of several attempts. The film's since been caught up in a complicated clash between Wood and producers. With the dispute still unresolved the rest of the film looks set to remain unmade. There's a trailer on YouTube though if you're curious (Picture: Vision Films)

3. Superman Lives (1998)

Superman might have led to you believe a man can fly - but this particular incarnation of the man of steel didn't even get off the ground. The movie, which was due to go before the cameras in the 1990s, was to be directed by Tim Burton, with Nicolas Cage donning the infamous red and blue suit to play Clark Kent/Superman. And with a cast which was also due to include Chris Rock as Jimmy Olsen, Sandra Bullock as Lois Lane, and Christopher Walken as Braniac, what was not to like? Sadly the film suffered production issues and script rewrites, with Warner Bros pulling the plug just weeks before shooting was set to begin - despite having already spent $30m (£23.2m) on costumes and promotional material. For those still wondering what might have been, a documentary, The Death Of Superman Lives: What Happened?, was released in 2015 and can be seen on YouTube

4. Broadway Brawler (1997)

The first of two Bruce Willis movies to make it onto this list, Broadway Brawler was a romantic comedy featuring the Die Hard legend as a retired ice-hockey player who falls in love. This one actually got 20 days into filming before it was canned, with Willis reported to be unhappy with the way production was going. While director Dennis Dugan was ultimately brought in to replace Lee Grant, it wasn't enough to stop the movie from being shut down completely - leaving makers Disney somewhat out of pocket since more than half of the film's $28m (£21m) budget had already been spent. To offset the loss, it's reported Willis made a deal to star in three more films for Disney at a lower salary than usual. Those movies were Armageddon, The Kid and The Sixth Sense, all of which were box office smashes (Picture: Getty Images)

5. Wake

Bruce Willis movie number two, this one being a 2015 action thriller about a man who returns to his childhood home on a remote island for his brother's wake, years after being banished by his family. The cast also included the likes of Ben Kingsley, Piper Perabo and Ellen Burstyn, with filming beginning in February of that year. However, ten days later production was shut down due to financial problems, leaving producers racing to find new backers. By April, however, both Willis and director John Pogue had quit due to financial and scheduling issues, resulting in the movie being shelved altogether (Picture: AFP)

6. Nostromo (1991)

Here's an epic which we truly missed out on. Nostromo, based on the classic 1904 novel by Joseph Conrad and set in the fictitious South American republic of Costaguana, was all set to go before the cameras in 1991 from British director David Lean. An incredible cast including the likes of Marlon Brando, Paul Scofield, Peter O'Toole, Christopher Lambert, Dennis Quaid and Isabella Rossellini signed up. What's more Steven Spielberg was on board to produce. Until, sadly, Lean died just a few weeks before filming was set to commence and the project subsequently collapsed, leaving us to wonder what might have been. The novel was however adapted into a BBC miniseries in 1997

7. Who Killed Bambi? (1978)

Back in 1978 you couldn't move for reading about the Sex Pistols - and given their popularity it's no surprise that they were primed to make the leap to the big screen. Who Killed Bambi? was intended as a vehicle for the punk anarchists to crack the US market as opposed to releasing a single or an album, and cult director Russ Meyer was attached to direct. Three days into filming (none of which involved the band), producers 20th Century Fox withdrew from the project and it was abandoned. The Pistols did however get their moment of big screen stardom, appearing in the 1980 mockumentary The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, directed by Julien Temple - who also directed 2000's documentary about the band, The Filth And The Fury (Picture: Getty Images)

8. Revenge Of The Nerds (2005)

Given the popularity of the Revenge Of The Nerds series in the 80s, it was no surprise to see the franchise was ripe for a remake in the 00s with Adam Brody and Kristin Cavallari attached to star. Filming began as planned in 2006 but shortly after the movie went before the cameras, Emory University in Georgia revoked permission to film on their campus after reading the script. That, coupled with the studio being less than enthusiastic about the early footage which was filmed, led to the demise of the project (Picture: Getty Images)

9. Apt Pupil (1987)

Stephen King fans will already be familiar with Apt Pupil, a novella from the super-author's Different Seasons collection (which also included Stand By Me and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption). The story, about a teenage boy who forms a disturbing friendship with a Nazi war criminal, did reach the screen in 1998 courtesy of director Bryan Singer, with Brad Renfro and Sir Ian McKellen starring. But a previous attempt was made to bring the controversial subject matter to the screen in 1987, with Ricky Schroder and Nicol Williamson in the lead roles. Around 75% of the film was indeed shot before the production ran out of money. By the time additional funding was secured, Schroder was deemed too old for the role. Which led to the whole thing being abandoned (Picture: NBCUniversal Media, LLC)

10. Yellow Submarine (2009)

The Beatles' Yellow Submarine is a proper classic, with the Fab Four being given the cartoon treatment in a truly surreal movie inspired by one of their classic songs. Yet in 2009, Back To The Future director Robert Zemeckis had a remake planned, which would swap the hand-drawn visuals for motion capture, in the manner of his 2004 hit The Polar Express. There was even a cast ready, with the likes of Peter Serafinoiwicz, Cary Elwes, Dean Lennox and Adam Campbell set to voice The Beatles - and, according to Far Out Magazine, David Tennant was in talks to play the Chief Blue Meanie. While a 2012 release to coincide with the London Olympics was reportedly planned, Disney abandoned the idea in 2011 after two other motion-capture movies, A Christmas Carol and Mars Needs Moms, tanked at the box office. Boooooo (Picture: LMPC via Getty Images)

11. Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon (1960s)

Finally, we can't round off without a nod to a movie that's considered one of the greatest never to be made. Stanley Kubrick's biopic of the French general was set to be a proper epic which covered his life from boyhood to death, and the director certainly went all out to try and get it made - from trying to see every film made about his life to writing a screenplay, scouting locations and making pages and pages of notes. What's more, actor David Hemmings was in the frame to play Napoleon, with Kubrick keen on Audrey Hepburn playing Josephine. Sadly filming never got off the starting blocks, as production was cancelled due to the expense of the location filming, as well as the fact that another Napoleon epic, 1970's Waterloo, was not a success. It may yet see the light of day in a different form, with HBO announcing it planned to turn the script into a miniseries in 2016. But as of 2025 it has yet to surface...