Many fans were shocked by the recent news that Warner Bros decided to cancel the upcoming Batgirl movie. Despite appearances from J.K. Simmons' Jim Gordon and Michael Keaton's Batman, the studio felt it was better to shelf the movie due to poor test screenings and their goal of producing much more "event" films like Shazam: The Fury of the Gods and Black Adam.
This certainly isn't the first time films in production have been canceled. For instance, Christopher Nolan was planning on a Howard Hughes biopic, but it fell through due to Martin Scorsese's The Aviator. Redditors have listed films they wanted to see that went unreleased, and interestingly enough, many movies they suggested were action or comic book related.
Hellboy 3
Guillermo Del Toro
Redditor Jason4hees really wanted to see a third Hellboy film, explaining, "i really enjoyed the 2nd one. i havent bothered with the remake." Considering that the 2019 remake was a disappointment both financially (via Box Office Mojo) and critically, fans wanted Guillermo Del Toro to finish his trilogy.
One of these advocates is Ron Perlman himself. Despite being 71 years old, Perlman feels that he and Del Toro owe it to the fans to give Hellboy a proper sendoff (as per Screen Rant). If it had happened, Hellboy would finally fulfill his destiny as Beast of the Apocalypse. Because too much time has passed after Hellboy 2, the big budget, and the bad taste from the 2019's Hellboy, it's unlikely that Perlman and the fans will get their wish.
Vega Brothers
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino is known for engaging storytelling, and his scrapped project in 2007 is no exception. Redditor tinoynk is intrigued by the idea of a "Vega Brothers movie."
Michael Madsen, who played Vic Vega in Reservoir Dogs, and John Travolta, who portrayed Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, confirmed that Tarantino was tossing around the idea of making a movie about the brothers. According to Slash Film, "Double V Vega" would have had to be a prequel, as both brothers died in their respective films. Tarantino did have an idea how to make a sequel work - which would involve twins and a club in Amsterdam - but because of the actors' ages and the plot's silliness, the project never came to fruition.
Justice League: Part 2 And 3
Zack Snyder
Though Redditor planethorror might face criticism, they feel that Snyder should have a chance to finish his Justice League story. They said that they "would have at least liked to see a 3rd movie with a consistent tone." Fan pressure was a big reason why Warner Bros. allowed Snyder to release his Justice League, in hopes of repairing the damage that Joss Whedon caused with the 2017 version.
It was going to be a continuation of the Injustice storyline that was teased in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. According to Digital Spy, there were three movies planned: the first being what was released, the second involving the team's defeat, and the third would focus on the fight against Darkseid. The problem is this bares a striking resemblance to the Infinity Saga from the MCU. Nevertheless, the multiverse will soon be introduced into the DCEU with Flashpoint, so this could've been introduced in a separate timeline as an easy fix if it wasn't well received.
Napoleon
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick has made some timeless classics, which is why BoSoxFanMRC wanted to see a Napoleon biopic. Fellow Redditor TheDudeWithNoName_went a step further, saying it's the "greatest film never made."
This was a passion project for Kubrick, especially since he didn't care for the existing biopics. The Spectator concludes that the film would've focused on Napoleon's life from birth until death. Futhermore, the scope of the battles would've been huge akin to those from The Lord of the Rings. This was uncommon for film's in the 1960's, a possible reason why MGM ditched the project. Kubrick made A Clockwork Orange instead and eventually Barry Lyndon, which was the closest thing he could get to Napoleon.
Alien 5
Neill Blomkamp
It's fairly safe to say that the sequels following Alien and Aliens were massive letdowns. So, when rumblings surfaced of Neill Blomkamp helming Alien 5, Chris-P was ecstatic by simply responding, "Alien 5 directed by Neill Blomkamp."
Riding off the success of District 9, Blomkamp was tasked with breathing life back into the Alien franchise. Retconning Alien 3, it was going to be a direct sequel to Aliens and would involve the Xenomorphs making their way to Earth (via Screen Rant). This would've been a great direction to take the franchise in, as it would've upped the stakes. Unfortunately, Chappie was Blomkamp's project that Fox picked. Now with the franchise in the hands of Disney, it'll probably be awhile before audiences get to see another Xenomorph terrorizing humans.
Superman Lives
Tim Burton
Considering Tim Burton's darker and gothic style of filmmaking, there was a point where the director was onboard to make a Superman movie starring Nicolas Cage. Hence, Redditor divinepinkflamingo responded, "Superman Lives," as the choice of the unreleased film they would want to see.
There are a multitude of reasons why the film never materialized fully, as indicated by Looper. The casting of Nicolas Cage, the bloated budget, and Batman and Robin's financial failure were the biggest reasons why production stopped just three weeks prior to filming. The documentary The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? delves much more into the details. However, it would've been fascinating to see a Nicolas Cage Superman, a Lex Luther and Braniac spawn, a giant mechanical spider, and polar bear guards at the Fortress of Solitude.
Ant-Man
Edgar Wright
Although Marvel released Ant-Man in 2015, Peyton Reed wasn't the original choice to direct. Redditor tfg49 really hoped to see Edgar Wright's version.
A deleted Reddit user agrees, saying, "After seeing AntMan and the Wasp and being generally disappointed by it, I feel like a lot of what was in the first film was Wright's idea." The basis of the Wright's script was still used in Ant-Man, but didn't connect much to the MCU, which is ultimately the reason he was let go (as per Screen Rant). Not only did Wright leave, but Paul Rudd nearly did as well, which would've been a huge blow as Ant-Man is one of his best movies.
Spider-Man 4
Sam Raimi
Redditor Youareposthuman was eager for a fourth Spider-Man film from Sam Raimi. They "always hated how the trilogy ended and would've loved to see a fourth to wrap things up a little more cleanly".
The Redditor has a point, considering Spider-Man 3's ambiguous ending. A successful fourth Spider-Man would've been redeeming, thus making audiences forget about its predecessor. However, Screen Rant explains that Raimi didn't feel that the script was good enough and feared repeating the same mistakes he made previously. Despite having an interesting plot and cast (John Malcovich as the Vulture), Raimi felt it was better to exit the project. This obviously led to Sony developing The Amazing Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield.
Shrek
Chris Farley
Shrek is one of the best animated fantasy films, and a big reason why is Mike Meyers voicing the famous Ogre. However, Chris Farley was the first choice by the writers. Based off of "lost footage", Redditor pandaman_17 feels this Shrek version "would have been completely different compared to the Shrek we all know."
Before his death in 1997, CheatSheet claims that Chris Farley reportedly recorded 80-90% of his dialogue. Because Mike Myers recorded with an entirely different accent, the animators had their work cut out for them, increasing the budget by $4 million. If the animation was changed to fit Mike Myers take on the character, it's entirely possible that the story was as well.
Justice League: Mortal
George Miller
Jantripp would've loved to see a George Miller directed Justice League and elaborated that, "It actually sounds pretty cool and I would have loved to see George Miller do a practical effects-heavy Justice League." If Mad Max: Fury Road is any indication, Miller would've been a perfect fit.
The project contained the notable Justice League members, with interesting actors attached, but it showed no signs of slowing until 2007. According to Collider, the Writer's Guild of America was on strike and complications of shooting in Miller's native Australia made matters worse. The final nail in the coffin was the recent release of the massively successful The Dark Knight. It would've been too big a risk for Warner Bros to gamble on another Batman when one had already made over $1 billion.