Ridley Scott is one of the most prolific directors of all time. He is constantly working, and while some veteran filmmakers take years between movies, Scott will often release two in one year. Even in 2021, the director was at the helm of both House of Gucci and The Last Duel.
Being so busy and with his fingers in so many pies, not all of Scott's projects make it to production. There are tons of famously unrealized Ridley Scott projects, whether it's Gladiator 2 or the Blade Runner 2049 follow-up, but there are so many more. There are some fascinating projects going back decades, and many of them still remain in development hell.
Monopoly
There are tons of movies based on board games that don't exactly have any sort of narrative and have no right being adapted into a film. Clue and Battleship are just a couple of examples, but one of the most popular board games of all time has been in development hell for years.
Monopoly has been in development hell since 2008, and according to Variety, Scott was set to direct the adaptation. Scott is a weird choice for a Monopoly movie, as the filmmaker doesn't make family-friendly movies and there isn't much comic relief in any of them. However, in the hands of Scott, the movie could have ended up being an exciting Rat Race-like adventure movie.
Mind MGMT
Scott has never directed a comic book movie before, which is surprising considering that many of his directing trademarks lend themselves to the genre well. He came the closest to working on a comic book film in 2013. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he was set to direct and create the story of the movie adaptation of Mind MGMT.
The comic book is about a true-crime writer who discovers the existence of super spies with psychic abilities that work for a secret government agency. It sounds like the source material is perfect for Scott, and he could have been one of the best comic book movie directors ever.
The Cartel
When it comes to movie genres, Ridley Scott is a jack of all trades, as he has made some of the best horror movies of all time, the best sci-fi movies of all time, and the best period dramas of all time. And though it was decades into his career until he made it, Scott directed American Gangster, one of the best gangster films of the 21st century.
According to Variety, The filmmaker was set to follow that up with The Cartel, a movie adaptation of Don Winslow's crime novel of the same name. It could even have been the start of a great gangster movie series, as The Cartel is the first novel of a trilogy. Though it had the potential to be another crime epic in the director's filmography, it will be developed into a TV series for FX.
Potzdamer Platz
The Cartel isn't the only exciting-sounding gangster movie Ridley Scott has worked on only for it to remain in development hell. According to Deadline, the filmmaker was working on Potzdamer Platz in 2010, which is about a New Jersey-based crime family. However, what's interesting about Potzdamer Platz is that it was actually going to be Tony Scott in the director's chair, Ridley Scott's brother.
There are tons of great Tony Scott movies, whether it's the Quentin Tarantino-written True Romance or Top Gun, and crime dramas were his bread and butter. But the development of the movie came to a standstill after Scott passed away. Unfortunately, the movie never happened, especially considering it was looking like it'd have an incredible cast, as Javier Bardem, Jason Statham, and Mickey Rourke were all in talks to star.
3001: The Final Odyssey
3001: The Final Odyssey wasn't planned as a movie, but as a TV miniseries to be aired on SyFy. The announcement that The Final Odyssey was in development goes as far back as 2014, and according to TVLine, Scott was heavily involved in producing the show.
At that point in the development, there was no director hired. But it would have been wonderful to see Scott direct the follow-up to 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the greatest sci-fi flicks ever made, especially considering his own status as a beloved sci-fi director. And given that A-list actors and celebrated directors are moving to television more and more, Scott helming a miniseries isn't totally out of the question. But there simply haven't been any more announcements made about the show, leading many to believe that the idea will stay shelved.
Tripoli
According to Variety, Scott was set to direct Tripoli in 2002, which was William Monahan's very first spec script. The writer is best known for writing The Departed, one of Scorsese's best gangster movies. But Tripoli is completely different, as it follows William Eaton's march in the First Barbary War.
However, Scott was simply more interested in other projects, as he left the development of Tripoli to direct Kingdom of Heaven, which Monahan also wrote. Of all of Scott's unrealized projects, it'd be great to see Tripoli get revived because audiences haven't seen a Monahan-penned period drama yet.
The Vatican
The Vatican was another television series in development, this time by Showtime, and the veteran director was hired to direct the first episode. But unlike all of Scott's other unrealized projects, the filmmaker did actually follow through with his role on the project and the pilot episode was even shot.
However, according to Collider, it'll almost certainly never see the light of day, as Showtime decided against greenlighting the series. It wasn't because of the quality of the episode, but because, according to Showtime president David Nevins, it "would feel very dated" given that Pope Benedict is no longer in charge of the Vatican.
Shadow Divers
In 2005, Scott was attached to direct Shadow Divers, an adaptation of the novel of the same name. Shadow Divers had the potential to be a thrilling adventure movie, as the novel is about the mysterious discovery of a World War II German U-boat in New Jersey.
After Scott left the project, according to Deadline, Robert Schwentke to over as director, which is an interesting choice given that they are too completely different filmmakers. Where Scott is a much more serious filmmaker who tells real-life stories as realistically as possible, Schwentke directs popcorn flicks like Red, R.I.P.D., and the recently released Snake Eyes.
Reykjavik
Reykjavik is another project that sounds perfect for Scott, and the Cold War thriller would fit right in with his other period crime dramas like Body of Lies and All The Money In The World. Unfortunately, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker backed down from directing the movie for unknown reasons.
The movie studio Headline Films has tried desperately to get the movie into production, as Mike Newell was hired as director after Scott, and Baltasar Kormakur was hired after Newell. Michael Douglas and Christoph Waltz were also attached to play Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, respectively.
It's What I Do
It's What I Do is the latest project that Scott was attached to only for it to result in being indefinitely shelved. The movie is a biopic of Lynsey Addario, a photojournalist who has achieved breakthroughs in human rights with her work. And as Scott signed on to the movie as recent as 2018, there were some other huge names attached to it.
According to The Guardian, before Scott, Steven Spielberg was attached to direct the movie and Jennifer Lawrence was set to play Addario. When Scott came on board, he replaced Addario with Scarlett Johansson, but she then left when she found out it was being funded by the Saudi Arabian crown prince. Since then, the current status of the movie is unknown.