With films like Spider-Man, The Evil Dead, and A Simple Plan in his catalog, Sam Raimi is a bonafide legend. After a near-decade break from directing films, Raimi makes his explosive return to the cinema with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Throughout his career, Raimi has been involved in many projects and some sadly never saw the light of day. With his signature style and memorable camera work, anything Raimi touches turns to gold, so it's likely these films would have been heightened to classics had they come to fruition.
Bermuda Triangle
In 2017, Sam Raimi signed on to direct Skydance's Bermuda Triangle film (via ComingSoon), which would have been a supernatural horror film. The film was also originally set to star Ryan Reynolds. Given Raimi got his start in horror, he would have been perfect for this film.
Interestingly, Raimi exited the film after signing onto Doctor Strange 2, and in a serious case of irony, Scott Derrickson, who was originally going to direct the Strange sequel signed on for Bermuda Triangle. Chris Evans also joined the film, per The Hollywood Reporter. Regardless, Derrickson is just as talented and the film could be lots of fun.
Thor
A Thor film from Sam Raimi sounds like it could have been one of the best adaptations of Thor ever. Shortly after completing his film Darkman, Raimi came up with an idea for a Thor film with Stan Lee.
The two would go on to pitch it together to 20th Century Fox but unfortunately, the studio didn't understand the character or concept. Sam Raimi recalls the ordeal, per Variety, saying, “It was thrilling to be with Stan Lee and hysterical the way that we had to explain who Thor was to executives, walking out of there going, ‘We didn’t get it! They think it’s gonna be some Hercules movie or something!’" A Thor film would go on to be directed by Kenneth Branagh but not until 2011.
Jack Ryan
In 2008, Sam Raimi had signed on to direct a new series of Jack Ryan films with Ryan Gosling in talks for the title role, via FirstShowing.net. However, Raimi later dropped out, choosing to focus on Spider-Man 4, which was still in development at the time.
Paramount would then cast Chris Pine in the lead role and just like Thor, Kenneth Branagh would sign on as director for this film, which ended up being the film Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit in 2014.
Evil Dead 4
After the release of Spider-Man 3, Sam Raimi announced a new Evil Dead film set to follow Army of Darkness. Plans were unfortunately put on hold after the director signed onto Warcraft and then eventually Oz: The Great and Powerful. The series was then rebooted with a new film, Evil Dead, directed by Fede Alvarez and released in 2013.
Unfortunately, finding funding for the film had become a challenge so instead the project was repurposed and evolved into the series Ash vs Evil Dead, going on to run for 3 seasons. Evil Dead set a precedent for low-budget horror films and the film series has achieved cult status over the years.
Batman Forever
What could be the most underrated or worst Batman film (depending on who you ask) was nearly helmed by Sam Raimi. A die-hard comic fan, Raimi had been attempting to make a superhero film for some time. He had previously unsuccessfully tried to pitch a Batman film before but got no luck and instead made Darkman.
After that film, Warner Bros. met with him but unfortunately passed in favor of hiring Joel Schumacher (per CBR). Given his involvement with Darkman, it's odd WB didn't pursue him since he has all the right sensibilities for a Batman film.
Warcraft
In 2009, Blizzard Entertainment announced a film based on World of Warcraft, set to be helmed by Sam Raimi. According to Collider, Raimi was not satisfied with the screenplay Blizzard had produced so he and Robert Rodat wrote an original story. The studio was initially onboard but ultimately they had their reservations.
In what was perceived as not much movement on the film, Raimi dropped out in favor of Oz: The Great and Powerful, and eventually Duncan Jones replaced Raimi as director for Warcraft, with the film eventually being released in 2016.
The Last of Us
Before the planned film was changed to a limited series on HBO, Sam Raimi was on board to produce and direct a film based on Naughty Dog's The Last of Us. Series creator Neil Druckmann was also onboard to write the film but unfortunately, Raimi and Druckmann had many creative differences with the studio.
Druckmann states, via GameByte, "A lot of the thinking and notes were like ‘how do we make it bigger? I think that’s ultimately why the movie wasn’t made." Sony reportedly didn't understand that the film is not meant to be a big action film but rather about relationships and the human spirit. Given his experience with horror and zombies, Sam Raimi would have made a great film.
The Hobbit
Although the film mainly deviated from the source material, The Hobbit still got some things right. Before Peter Jackson was brought back to helm the new Middle-Earth trilogy, Sam Raimi threw his name into the ring.
As a life-long fan of Middle-Earth books, Raimi was very passionate about the project and talks arose between New Line and Raimi in 2006 (per TheOneRing.net). Unfortunately, they passed and Jackson was instead brought back for this trilogy. Had Raimi stayed on, perhaps there would have been a greater emphasis on practical effects.
Spider-Man 4
It's a real shame Spider-Man 4 never saw the light of day. After being disappointed with the end result of Spider-Man 3, Sam Raimi was keen on delivering the best Spider-Man film for the sequel. Raimi was writing the film with James Vanderbilt and it was set to feature John Malkovich as the main villain Vulture, along with Anne Hathaway as Black Cat and Bruce Campbell as Mysterio. Last month, Raimi also revealed Kraven the Hunter was meant to appear as well (via Rolling Stone).
After the release of No Way Home, chances for this film happening again are way more likely. Raimi, Kirsten Dunst, and Tobey Maguire have all expressed interest, according to Showbiz Cheatsheet. Should it ever happen, it would be great if they still used the original idea.
Spider-Man vs The Amazing Spider-Man
After the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sony began toying with various ideas on how to reinvigorate the franchise following the film's disappointing critical reception. One such idea included a Multiverse crossover similar to No Way Home.
According to ScreenRant, Sony had been in talks with Sam Raimi to helm a crossover film centered on Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's incarnations of the wall-crawler. Perhaps the brief web duel between the two in No Way Home was a subtle nod to this project. Raimi at the helm of another Spider-Man film, let alone with two of them, just sounds too good to be true. Had it happened, it surely would have blown fans' minds.