Tim Burton is known for his unique and gothic inspired filmography that includes an array of genres such as superhero movies, comedies, dramas, musicals, and Claymation. With such an extraordinary talent in a multitude of cinematic genres, it's hard to believe that the list of unmade projects by Burton is nearly as long as the ones that have been made.
While Burton was working at Disney in 1984, he created his first live-action short titled Frankenweenie, which was later adapted into a feature-length claymation film under the same name. This story of a boy and his dog caught the eye of Paul Reubens, who chose Burton to direct his first film, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985). Following the success of the film, he created the cult classic film, Beetlejuice (1988), starring Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton. His ability to work with small budgets and make a major profit at the box office caught the eye of studio executives everywhere, landing him the directorial position for 1989’s Batman.
Burton continued to put out extraordinary films, such as Edward Scissorhands (1990) and the remarkably detailed and captivating claymation movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). He has undeniably become a staple in creating bizarre and entertaining films in every genre. From the heartfelt drama of Big Fish (2003) to the horrors of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2007), Burton’s filmography is nothing short of extraordinary, as is the list of his unmade projects.
Conversations With Vincent
Conversations With Vincent was inspired by Burton’s lifelong love of Vincent Price’s work. Following his collegiate career at CalArts, he released his first short, titled Vincent, about a young boy who also shared a love of Vincent Price with the legend himself doing the voiceover. This documentary is not unmade; it has been made, but Tim Burton has refused to release it. The film involves the two talking with one another. There is speculation that he never released the documentary due to finding his final moments with Vincent Price too distressing and emotionally jarring. To this day, fans await the moment Burton chooses to release it.
Beetlejuice Sequel
Due to the success of the original Beetlejuice film, Burton set out to make a sequel, Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, that never saw its way to production. It is not the only attempt he has made at making a sequel to the cult classic, but this screenplay in particular is the only one that has been given a name. Jonathan Gems wrote the script, which follows the Deetz family who have moved to Hawaii to develop a resort. As the old story goes, they discover that they are building over an ancient burial ground, which awakens the restless spirits below.
Beetlejuice just so happens to wake from his own slumber and wreak havoc all over again. It was never made due to the fact that it would need to be totally recast as the original actors had grown older and out of the age range necessary to play their characters. Furthermore, sequels rarely do as well as the original movies, and Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian could have severely damaged the reputation of the 1988 cult classic film.
Mai, The Psychic Girl
When the manga Mai, The Psychic Girl announced it was going to be adapted into a movie in the 1980s, Tim Burton was slated to direct it. The story follows Mai, a young girl with incredibly gifted psychic abilities who is pursued by evil organizations that strive to take over the world. When the rights to the film were purchased by Carolco Pictures in 1991, Tim Burton was unable to do the film, as he was working on The Nightmare Before Christmas. Ultimately, the film has been tossed from director to director, but Burton showed genuine interest in 2010 for taking the project on. As of June 2020, there is no word on whether or not Mai, The Psychic Girl will ever be made.
Catwoman
After releasing Batman Returns in 1992, Burton showed interest in making Catwoman, which would star Michelle Pfeiffer as the titular character navigating the world outside of Gotham City. The primary plot would find Catwoman back in action as she tries to cope with the trauma she experienced in the 1992 film. Everything was set in place for the film to come to fruition, Pfeiffer was locked into the role, and a screenwriter was chosen. Ultimately, the years passed and a desire for Burton’s Catwoman grew nonexistent. This simple fact led it to never reaching the production stage.
The Fall Of The House Of Usher
At the same time Burton was ramping up to work on Catwoman, he also showed interest in developing Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall Of The House Of Usher (1839). Instead of working on the film, he chose to direct Mars Attacks! (1996). Despite the fact that there has never been a Burton adaptation of Poe’s story, there are plenty around that can still be enjoyed by fans of the macabre.
Ripley's Believe It Or Not!
In 2007, Tim Burton’s unique vision and the bizarre life of Robert Ripley were on the path to merge and create the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! film. Jim Carrey was the perfect actor to portray the iconic Ripley and locations were abundance with obscure landscapes and details. Everything about the film was set for success. A week before it was set to move into production, Paramount chose to shelve the project entirely. To this day, it remains untouched as well as one of Tim Burton’s unmade projects that he has vocalized deep devastation about never making.
The Nightmare Before Christmas Sequel
In 2001, Disney approached Tim Burton to create a sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas. While it initially sounded like a good idea, the studio wanted it to be entirely made with computer animation. In order to maintain the integrity of the original film’s claymation style, Tim Burton backed out of the project. Furthermore, he believed that retelling the same story with different holidays would become too repetitive and ruin the original’s unique plot. As of November 2019, a new film is supposedly in the works with Disney, but there is little known on whether or not it will be stop-motion, live action, or computer animated.
The Addams Family
The Addams Family and Tim Burton seem like the perfect match for creating a creepy, unique, and macabre film. In 2010, Burton was slated to be a part of the stop-motion film based on the original comic drawings by Charles Addams. It was set to follow the iconic and strange Addams family who reside in an old Victorian house and live for frights. By July of 2013, it was announced that it had been abruptly cancelled, but picked up again later in the year. The Addams Family animated film released in October of 2019, but Burton was no longer attached to the project for unknown reasons.
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children Sequels
Tim Burton's 2016 film, Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, was adapted from the novel of the same name by Ransom Riggs. The novel is one of five existing installments in Riggs' series that involve the peculiar children. After the release of the first film, it was assumed that sequels would follow based on the second book, Hollow City (2014), and Library Of Souls (2015). Despite the unique plot and iconic Burton aesthetics, Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children flopped at the box office and did not garner enough attention to warrant making an entire franchise.
As he reaches nearly 40 years in the film industry, Burton has created some of the greatest cult classics and astoundingly detailed claymation films that have been and will be enjoyed for many years to come. The primary reason behind Tim Burton having such an expansive list of unmade projects is due to the fact that he wanted to maintain the integrity of the original works, felt too deeply for them, or the studio did not find them necessary. Regardless of all of the films and television shows that remain unmade, there are a plethora of entertaining and captivating works by Burton that are worth watching and revisiting.
In 2017, it was announced that an actual sequel to Beetlejuice was underway with Michael Keaton reprising his role as the title character. Unfortunately, in 2019, Warner Brothers Studio announced that they shelved the project, adding to the list of unmade projects that could have been. The unmade projects of Tim Burton do not outweigh the importance of his existing works that make him the legend he is today.