Marvel movies have been a part of modern cinema for over a decade. Beginning with the first Iron Man film and the start of the first phase of the MCU, the popularity surrounding Marvel characters not only increased, it made superhero films a viable presence in Hollywood again. Studios, executives, producers, and investors could all take a risk on a Marvel film and it would pay off.
So why do some Marvel films get greenlit, and others don’t, if they’ve all been so successful lately? Some projects have been in “development hell” already for a decade or two before they’re canceled for lack of interest or a change of creative hands. Sometimes they’re simply locked into the legalities of who owns the rights to them, preventing any one studio from moving forward. And sometimes, these Marvel films aren’t any that we would want to see anyway, the pet projects of actors and directors that never had a chance at being made. Here are 5 canceled Marvel movies that we really wanted to see, and 5 that we’re glad we won’t.
WANTED TO SEE: SHE-HULK
There have been a couple of stand-alone Hulk films in the last two decades, one starring Edward Norton and one starring Eric Bana. Both weren’t very successful, and it wasn’t until Mark Ruffalo landed the role in the Avengers movies did the character get popular again.
Before any of those actors were lining up to get green and mad, a She-Hulk action film was being pitched. In the early ‘90s, it would have starred Brigitte Nielsen (having played the sword-wielding Red Sonja a few years earlier) as She-Hulk, and have been written by Larry Cohen. Nielsen even posted pictures of herself as both She-Hulk and Jennifer Walters but the movie was never made.
GLAD WE DIDN'T: HOWARD THE DUCK 2
When it first came out, Howard the Duck wasn’t the best-received film based on a comic character. Something about a large, sentient duck getting beamed from Duckworld to battle evil scientists on Earth and get with rocker babes seemed too bizarre even for comic books fans to digest.
The film, released in 1986, was set up for a sequel by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, something they seemed to want to pursue. Even after the first film bombed there was hope a sequel would get greenlit based on George Lucas’s name alone, but it didn't. which was just as well, because the only thing worse than one Howard the Duck movie is two.
WANTED TO SEE: NAMOR THE SUB-MARINER
Now that Aquaman has done so well in theaters, we can all lament the loss of seeing Marvel’s own ruler of Atlantis on the big screen. Philip Kaufman was set to develop a Namor Sub-Mariner movie as far back as 1997, before it was in talks to be developed by Universal Studios in 2001. It was set to begin filming in 2003, directed by Christopher Columbus, but he had his hands full with Harry Potter.
The release date was pushed back to 2007, when it again changed hands several times before finally, the film rights reverted back to Marvel in 2014. Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer has maintained since 2016 that we may still see a film, after contracts can be sorted out, but we won’t hold our breath.
GLAD WE DIDN'T: TOPHER GRACE'S VENOM
Aren’t you glad we got the Venom movie that we did starring Tom Hardy, rather than the disaster that would have been a continuation of Topher Grace’s take on Eddie Brock and the symbiote? In Spider-Man 3, the role of Eddie Brock was initially supposed to be small, with no mention of his alter ego, Venom. However, they brought him to the forefront as the main villain, to the detriment of the film.
Director Sam Raimi had been accused of putting too much emphasis on the Spider-Man antagonists he personally liked, and while Venom became a bigger part of that film his spin-off was already being planned. However, it was determined Topher Grace couldn’t carry a Venom film.
WANTED TO SEE: GAMBIT
The development of a Gambit movie has been discussed for years, with a revolving door of directors, writers, and actors attached to it since the mid-‘00s. As recently as last year, Channing Tatum was attached to be the Ragin' Cajun in a dark and gritty origin story set to begin filming.
Unfortunately, when Disney acquired Fox, a lot of films on the docket got axed, despite Marvel Studios wanting to start to integrate the X-Men characters into the MCU. The Gambit film was then put on hold, along with all the other Fox Marvel projects slated to begin development. In May of 2019, it was officially canceled.
GLAD WE DIDN'T: KA-ZAR
When studios want to develop a new film they often look at what’s trending, what’s making people go to the movies, and then calculate some project that would be predictably successful. Their first thought usually isn’t to make movies that take risks on characters few people have ever heard of, especially when it comes to Marvel.
Except that’s what almost happened when Marvel Studios got its writers together in 2010 and focused on producing smaller budget movies on a smaller scale with third tier characters. Which is what Ka-Zar is, a Tarzan clone that lives in the jungle punching lions, tigers, and dinosaurs in the face since the ‘30s. This sounds like it would have been a total cheese-fest.
WANTED TO SEE: MOON KNIGHT
Driven half mad by his need for vengeance, Moon Knight filled the void Marvel had for a Batman character, a hero who could easily be perceived as a villain or a hero on any given day. And while Moon Knight has enjoyed a lot of success in comic books, he’s never been brought to life on the big screen,
Two years ago, in January of 2017 Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn sent out a tweet conveying that he had indeed pitched his own story for a Moon Knight film, and he was waiting to hear back from studios. Given all the controversy around Gunn since then, there could have been a reason for that.
GLAD WE DIDN'T: DARK PHOENIX SEQUELS
Telling the story of the Dark Phoenix Saga was going to be a monumental task even for pros at the superhero game like Marvel Studios. It would be impossible coming from anyone else, as was evidenced by the low ratings of the final Fox X-Men film that premiered in March of 2019 and focused on younger versions of original X-Men.
The director wanted his debut film to spawn a trilogy, except after the Disney acquisition of Fox, it was announced that the X-Men characters were going to be rebooted from scratch. Which is just as well, because Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige wasn’t overly impressed with the film either, and is no doubt already considering how to make it better first, before sequels are considered.
WANTED TO SEE: TASKMASTER
Taskmaster was an infamous mercenary, often hired by various crime syndicates or supervillains to hunt down Moon Knight. He has the ability to mimic anyone he battles, from their fighting style to their weapon usage. He could never defeat Moon Knight because mimicking Moon Knight perfectly would have ended in him dying.
Back in 2008 a Taskmaster adaptation was being considered, with Joe Carnahan brought on to direct. It was meant to be an origin film, and it wasn’t clear whether or not the film would feature involvement with Moon Knight. Unfortunately, no further developments took place in the nearly decade since.
GLAD WE DIDN'T: GHOST RIDER 3
After the disappointing returns of Ghost Rider and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, it wasn’t thought possible that there would be a third Ghost Rider film featuring Nic Cage as Johnny Blaze. However, for a time at least, Nic Cage didn’t feel like he was finished playing the character and wanted a third movie to cap off his trilogy.
However, the eccentric star changed his mind after subsequent years had passed. Eventually deciding that perhaps a female Ghost Rider was more likely to happen than him appearing as Johnny Blaze again. Just because an actor loves a character, doesn’t mean that they should appear as them.