Steven Spielberg is arguably the most prolific director of all time, as he’s capable of making adventure movies, period dramas, and iconic sci-fi flicks, and it’s made him the most in-demand filmmaker in the world.
Between pursuing passion projects that never came to light and being begged by producers to direct their movies, Spielberg has a slew of unrealized projects from the 1970s. Some of them still saw release under the helm of inferior filmmakers, whereas others still remain in development hell to this day.
White Lightning
As White Lightning was released in 1974, it would have been the first Spielberg movie after Duel, which makes perfect sense as they’re both action thrillers and White Lightning would have been an expectable follow-up.
Starring Burt Reynolds, White Lightning is a fun movie, but in the hands of Spielberg, it could have been a classic. The director eventually turned it down, probably because it was so similar to his last project, and instead directed The Sugarland Express.
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind 2
With Close Encounters of the Third Kind being a huge hit upon its release, making $300 million worldwide and becoming one of the very best Spielberg movies, the studio was quick to try and push a sequel.
Spielberg had even expressed interest in working on it but eventually decided against it as it would fail to make sense given the army’s cover-up at the end of the first movie.
Superman
It’s actually hard to believe that so many decades into his storied career, Spielberg hasn’t ever directed a superhero movie. However, he did come close in the late 70s.
There have been many possible directors for a Superman movie, but possibly the best director for the job is Spielberg. There were serious talks between Spielberg and the studio, but his commitment to Close Encounters of the Third Kind kept him from the project.
Moonraker
The Roger Moore James Bond movies weren’t exactly the character’s finest hour, as the super spy was turned in to a laughing stock, and that’s no more clear than in Moonraker.
The movie is harmless fun and was hugely successful, but Spielberg could have turned it into a spectacle. The director offered to direct the movie, but the producer turned him down, and the result was a movie completely unlike the novel.
The Adventures Of Indiana Smith
That name might sound familiar, as it has a striking resemblance to the name of the best Spielberg hero, though it doesn’t have quite the same ring to it that Indiana Jones has.
When George Lucas and Spielberg first met, Lucas convinced the director to create a movie based on the film serials of the 30s and 40s. The movie was planned to be more like a James Bond affair, but it was eventually remolded into what became Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Night Skies
Though not a direct sequel, Night Skies was planned as a “spiritual” successor to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and it was originally pitched by Spielberg while the movie was still in development.
Night Skies was put into development after Close Encounters became so successful, but in the end, the movie never saw the light of day. However, the concept was what inspired another Spielberg sci-if movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three
Being another action thriller from the early 70s, The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three would have made for a very predictable follow up to Duel.
With Spielberg being no stranger to suspenseful sequences, the movie was offered to him and it would again probably have been better than the outcome. However, the movie was remade in the 2000s by Tony Scott, which has become criminally underrated.
Cruising
Being an adaptation of Gerald Walker’s novel of the same name, Cruising was directed by William Friedkin and starred a young Al Pacino, but before that, Spielberg was approached to helm the movie.
It went so far that after negotiations, Spielberg was even hired and attached to the project for more than three years, but he eventually threw in the towel as he had problems creating a satisfactory script.
Lucky Lady
Spielberg has made a lot of sentimental movies, and if he did go on to direct Lucky Lady then he’d have one more, as the movie follows a young widow during the prohibition era.
The movie was instead directed by Stanley Donnen and starred Gene Hackman. It’s a good job that Spielberg didn’t direct Lucky Lady because if he did, we would never have gotten Jaws, as it came down to choosing between one or the other.
Flushed With Pride
Along with being in talks about White Lightning, Spielberg was humoring the possibility of directed Flush With Pride at the same time, but he was a lot more invested in this project. Spielberg tried so hard to greenlight this movie in the early 70s, despite it being quite a left-field choice for the director.
The movie is a satirical biography about Thomas Crapper who invented the flushing toilet. The project unfortunately encountered too many problems leading to Spielberg leaving the project.