Director Oliver Stone is not only one of the greatest filmmakers of all time but also one of the most controversial. Films like Natural Born Killers, JFK, and Nixon, have been lauded as great work, but also have caused contention between Stone and the audience for taking too much dramatic license or for infusing too many of his own opinions.

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He's put his stamp on so many stories and, like many filmmakers, there are more stories he has intended to tell but hasn't been able to - some of which are very surprising. Audiences can only imagine what the director's take would have been on some of these films.

Margaret Thatcher Biopic

Meryl Streep standing in front of protestors in The Iron Lady

Oliver Stone has made several biopics of history's most famous men, like Alexander The Great and Richard Nixon, but in the early 2000s, Stone wanted to make his first biopic of a historical woman. The subject would be the controversial and, to date, only female British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

Apparently, Stone had always been fascinated by Thatcher and hadn't tackled 1980s Cold War politics yet in any of his films. He planned to make the project with Meryl Streep in the role, however, the movie never materialized. Ultimately, a Margaret Thatcher movie starring Meryl Streep would eventually get made entitled, The Iron Lady.

Marching Toward Valhalla

Kevin Costner as Dunbar standing in a field in Dances With Wolves

At one time, Stone was going to venture into Civil War territory and adapt Michael Blake's (Dances With Wolves author) General George A. Custer novel, Marching Toward Valhalla. To play the famous General, Stone eyed Brad Pitt or his JFK star, Kevin Costner.

The film would have been a fictionalized account of Custer's final days before infamously dying at the 1876 Battle Of Little Bighorn. Unfortunately, the movie never got made, but it would've been interesting to see Stone's take on another famous period in history.

Memphis

Performers performing the musical Memphis on stage

Previously, Oliver Stone almost directed the musical Evita starring Madonna, about the wife of Argentinian dictator, Juan Peron. However, despite being a musical, Evita's politically charged material was right up his alley, which makes his interest in doing an adaptation of the rock musical Memphis very interesting.

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Memphis is based on the life of Dewey Phillips, one of the first white DJs to play Black music. It's possible that the time period attracted Stone to the project, allowing him to tackle the subject of civil rights and racism, but through a musical format. Zac Efron and Justin Timberlake were in the running for the lead, but the film ultimately never came to pass.

Noriega

Al Pacino as coach talking with football player in Any Given Sunday

Before Stone directed Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, he planned for him to star in his surely-to-have-been controversial biopic of Panamanian dictator, Manuel Noriega. Noriega was a CIA source and involved in the controversial "Iran-Contra" affair. However, his illegal activities caused him to become a nemesis, so the US invaded Panama and removed him from power.

The cause of the Noriega biopic's collapse was blamed on cost. Stone intended to film the Panama invasion using thousands of extras, and a clause in his contract made him liable for budget overruns, so he ultimately decided not to do the film. Stone's take on the US involvement with Noreiga, coupled with Al Pacino's performance, could've been fascinating, making the film's cancelation all the more disappointing.

American Psycho

Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman wielding an axe

Mary Harron, director of controversial thriller American Psycho, had been attached to the film for several years, having been hired then fired and replaced by Oliver Stone, before being re-hired. In Stone's version, Leonardo DiCaprio would've played Patrick Bateman, with Cameron Diaz and James Woods co-starring.

However, coming off Titanic, which was a hit with teen girls, feminist activist Gloria Steinem convinced DiCaprio not to alienate his female audience by doing a movie where he inflicts violence upon women. So, DiCaprio dropped out, starring in The Beach instead, which caused Stone to exit as well. Mary Harron was then rehired and got to cast her original choice, Christian Bale. Ironically, Gloria Steinem would then marry Bale's father.

The Fountainhead

Cary Cooper as Howard Roarke standing in front of building model in The Fountainhead

Produced as a film in 1943, many filmmakers have set their sights on remaking the classic adaptation of Ayn Rand's legendary novel. The story concerns architect Howard Roark, who battles for his artistic integrity, which is a metaphor for individualism in a world that forces its people to conform.

In the '90s, Oliver Stone was very interested in tackling the remake, with Brad Pitt attached to star as Roark. Unfortunately, the movie was never made, but rumors of a Fountainhead remake persisted, with Zack Snyder later signing on to direct. However, Snyder has recently said the project is dead due to his belief "the country is too divided" to handle the film. The already-divisive Stone and his take on such a controversial book could have been very compelling.

MLK

Martin Luther King holding microphone and speaking in Selma

For several years, Steven Spielberg toyed with making a Martin Luther King biopic since Dreamworks Pictures owns his life rights and speeches (which forced Ava Duvernay to have to write new speeches for King in Selma). In 2014, Dreamworks tasked Oliver Stone with tackling the official King biopic and it would have starred Jaime Foxx as the civil rights leader.

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However, Stone doesn't gloss over controversy, and more often than not, he creates more, which meant that his King biopic would've been a "warts and all" depiction. Ultimately, the King estate rejected Stone's script, notably for delving into King's adultery, and thus, an official biopic of the legendary man has yet to be produced.

Pinkville

Charlie Sheen as Chris standing in jungle with rifle in Platoon

Vietnam vet Oliver Stone has made many films about the Vietnam War, most notably PlatoonBorn On the Fourth Of July, and Heaven & Earth, and even JFK and Nixon make reference to it. He wasn't finished with Vietnam when he planned to make Pinkville, which was to be about the My Lai Massacre.

Pinkville would have starred Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum, however, many factors contributed to its demise, including the 2007-2008 writer's strike, which halted production. Following that, Pinkville got canceled entirely due to Iraq War films not performing well at the box office and the studio didn't want to produce a film portraying American soldiers in a negative light. Instead, Stone made the George W. Bush biopic, W. Years later, there were talks of reviving the project, but the film appears unlikely to ever be made.

Return Of The Apes

Mark Whalberg as Leo standing with Helena Bonham Carter as Ari in Planet Of The Apes

According to the book, "Killer Instinct," Natural Born Killers producer Don Murphy's dream was to make a Planet Of The Apes film. After working with Stone on Killers, Murphy pitched him the remake idea, and Stone agreed to direct. However, a while later, Stone admitted to Murphy he felt those movies were "awful," but agreed to stay on as a producer and work on the story.

The story, to which he attached Arnold Schwarzenegger, dealt with a genetic scientist who travels back to the Stone Age to prevent a plague, where he finds humans in a war with highly evolved apes. The script bore little resemblance to the original films and took place in the past instead of the future. Eventually, Stone's interest went to other projects and Murphy sold off the franchise rights. Ultimately, Tim Burton's reimagining would be released in 2001 instead. Having Stone tackle a sci-fi franchise could have been unique, considering he had previously written the original Conan The Barbarian.

Mission: Impossible II

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt standing atop mountain in Mission Impossible 2

Looking to reunite with his Born On The Fourth Of July director, Tom Cruise initially enlisted Oliver Stone to direct Mission: Impossible 2. The action sequel would have been a huge departure for political filmmaker Stone, however, the plot seems to have definitely had his fingerprints on it.

Taking place in such locations as Vietnam, Ethan Hunt would've battled a villain controlled by a supercomputer, and, at one point, Hunt finds himself in a Garden Of Eden simulation where he's forced to do psychological battle with a monster. Eventually, this script, which relied heavily on biblical allegories, was rejected and Stone left the film. Ultimately, the studio replaced him with action movie legend John Woo, whose version focused on preventing a virus outbreak. Cruise clearly wanted Oliver Stone's take on the action franchise and audiences probably would have liked to have seen what he'd do too.

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