I have boundless respect for the craft and creativity of directors in Hollywood, but not every director is a perfect fit for specific projects. The director of a movie typically has the single most impact on the overall finished product. A good director is involved in every step of the movie’s development once they come onboard for a project, crafting a clear vision of what they want the finished movie to look like, and then putting all the pieces in play to ensure that the outcome matches the vision.

However, studios often acquire the rights to books and stories before securing a director, which means the studio and the producers need to choose the right director to helm the project. Often, this is not much of an issue, as studios have a tendency to find the right individual for the job to ensure maximum engagement and success of their movies. But, sometimes, the names floating around for a movie in pre-production would have clearly made a very different movie to the classic films we now know and love.

10

James Cameron’s Jurᴀssic Park

Dinosaur Thrills Unmade

For example, when the rights for Michael Crichton’s novel, Jurᴀssic Park, were being shopped around, James Cameron had a vision for what he’d like to do with the story, and he wanted to acquire the rights. However, Universal beat him to it, and they were backing Steven Spielberg to lead the project. Spielberg’s Jurᴀssic Park is a beloved classic that can be enjoyed by the whole family, and sparked a large ongoing franchise that is full of intrigue and wonder.

Cameron, on the other hand, was coming off his time working on movies like Aliens and The Terminator, and he had a vision for the movie to be a dark, gritty, horror-action flick. This would have been a hugely different version of the story, and even if it had succeeded, it would not have engaged the same audience. Despite Cameron’s future projects like Avatar, his Jurᴀssic Park would have been a tough sell.

9

David Lynch’s Return of the Jedi

Lynch’s Star Wars What If?

I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of David Lynch’s movies. But that is not to say that I don’t respect his craft and the enormous fanbase he has built. Lynch is, without a doubt, an inspired filmmaker whose unique style and approach to storytelling has influenced many creatives, and become iconic in its own right. And when it comes to shows like Twin Peaks, I think he did a remarkable job at crafting something haunting and clever.

However, Lynch is not a mainstream storyteller, and he walks to the beat of his own drum. So, when Lynch was offered the chance to direct the third installment of the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi, I am glad he turned it down. This movie, more than any other in the franchise, cemented its reputation as one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time. Yes, Lynch made the original Dune movie, but seeing how controversial that film is likely provides a taste of what could have become of the Star Wars franchise under his direction.

8

Steven Spielberg’s Oldboy

Spielberg’s Dark Turn Missed

The original Oldboy film from 2003 is a masterpiece. And when a remake was released in 2013, the film received widespread negative reviews despite being directed by Spike Lee, and largely staying true to the earlier film. However, had Steven Spielberg helmed the project, things could have been even more disappointing. Spielberg is a visionary filmmaker whose work has also defined cinema, with movies like Jurᴀssic Park listed above.

However, the story of Oldboy does not appear to match his style or body of work in the slightest. Even with the film that Spielberg wanted to make reported to be closer to an adaptation of the manga, the story is dark, intense, and violent. Spielberg’s movies have a tendency to be less dark, and more hopeful, less violent, and more action-packed. While Lee’s remake was not well-received, at least it fit the tone of the story.

7

Tobe Hooper’s The Thing

Hooper’s Chilling Vision Lost

Horror is an interesting genre that had its hay day in the 1970s and 1980s. At that time, a lot of exciting new directors were appearing, and delivering incredible and unique stories that enjoyed enormous success on relatively тιԍнт budgets. As was the case with Tobe Hooper, the director of the hit film The Texas Chainsaw Mᴀssacre. As a result, Hooper was approached with an offer to remake the 1951 movie, The Thing From Another World. Hooper was onboard, but he adjusted the story to become more of a Moby Dick in space story than what would eventually become The Thing.

However, John Carpenter saw a deeper and more haunting message in the original novella, and his adaptation focused on themes of paranoia and idenтιтy instead of a story about one man chasing an alien monster. Carpenter’s The Thing was not initially received well, but as time has proven, the film was eventually recognized and praised for its spectacular storytelling and evocative themes.

6

M. Night Shyamalan’s Spider-Man

Shyamalan’s Web Unspun

When Spider-Man was being made into a feature-length live-action movie by Sony, it’s interesting that the studio went to directors who were famous for horror and suspense stories. Looking at Sam Raimi’s previous works, I wouldn’t have tagged him as being a great choice to direct Spider-Man, but the result is undeniably one of the best Spider-Man stories on the big screen. However, I have a harder time believing that M. Night Shyamalan’s version of the movie would have been anywhere close.

Shyamalan is a great storyteller, and someone who does twists in movies really well, but his track record has also been very hit or miss. For every good Shyamalan film, there are several more that are mediocre to unpalatable. So when he was rumored to be attached to Spider-Man, the match didn’t exactly make sense. However, Shyamalan has himself spoken out about his hesitation to make comic book movies for Marvel and DC, showing that he understands he’s not really that guy.

5

Francis Ford Coppola’s Meet The Robinsons

Coppola’s Animated Shift

Meet the Robinsons is one of my all-time favorite animated films, with incredible themes, fun, and excitement throughout. However, it’s interesting to note that before Disney acquired the rights to adapt the novel, A Day With Wilbur Robinson, the story was being pitched to some huge names for a potential live-action movie adaptation. Among them, Francis Ford Coppola was supposedly being eyed to direct, but it’s hard to imagine anything close to the story that was eventually released being made under his unique vision.

However, this family-friendly, sci-fi, heartwarming story of love and friendship does not appear to be like anything else in his repertoire. Coppola’s recent release, Megalopolis, shows his intrigue in sci-fi as a genre, but the reception to that film also shows a lack of interest in creating something that appeals to the audience in favor of creating something new, innovative and groundbreaking.

4

Stanley Kubrick’s The Lord of the Rings

Kubrick’s Epic Fantasy Pᴀss

Stanley Kubrick is known for making movies that were incredibly innovative, and nearly impossible for other filmmakers to even imagine. However, even Kubrick felt intimidated at the prospect of adapting J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series into a feature film. Despite being offered a chance to direct, Kubrick determined the story was unfilmable, which resulted in many years of development hell.

However, despite the rejection, and years of trying to get such a movie made, when Peter Jackson approached the project with fresh eyes and bold ideas, creating a three-part trilogy that was filmed all at once in one of the most ambitious and extensive projects in history, the result was magical. Jackson’s TLotR trilogy is nothing short of miraculous, and despite the franchise being added to in the years since its release, it’s hard to imagine the original story being remade any time soon. Had Kubrick adapted the films earlier, it’s likely that, regardless of the resulting movies’ success, there would never have been a chance for Jackson to bring his vision to life.

3

Edgar Wright’s Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Wright’s Spy Action Denied

Edgar Wright is a comedy genius whose innovative approach to filmmaking is nothing short of spectacular. The Cornetto trilogy, and films like Last Night in Soho, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and Baby Driver all stand out as incredible genre-bending тιтles. However, that very uniqueness is exactly what would have made him a terrible choice to direct Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

Wright is an auteur of a filmmaker, and that is not a bad thing. However, it does mean that he needs to have a lot of control and freedom over his projects. Mission Impossible is a long-established franchise, with a specific tone, and I believe that would have been too challenging and confining for Wright to come aboard. I’m not saying his approach wouldn’t have been a great movie, but I don’t think it would fit with the rest of the series.

2

Tim Burton’s Superman Lives

Burton’s Krypton Dream Fades

Ever since pictures of Nicolas Cage circulated online with the actor in a Superman suit, people have speculated and lamented over what could have been. Yes, Tim Burton made some iconic Batman movies that will forever live on as part of that legacy, but I don’t for one second believe that his Superman movie was something that was needed, or worth adding to the storied history of the character. I love Tim Burton movies, and his work is iconic, but it’s nothing like Superman.

Superman is hope, and bright, and wonder, and amazement. Burton is dark, and weird, and spectacle, and oddity. The two would not have been a good mix, and just from seeing the test images of Cage in the suit, it’s clear that this would have been a very different version of Superman. Today, with things like DCU’s Elseworlds in the mix, a Tim Burton Superman movie could be interesting, but it never belonged in the mainstream series of films.

1

Francis Ford Coppola’s The Adventures of Pinocchio

Coppola’s Puppet Tale Cut

Not to harp on Coppola, considering he has already featured once on this list, but there was another project that he was attached to that makes absolutely no sense for the director of The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. However, the extent of the lengths Coppola would go to in order to try and make a live-action Pinocchio movie is mind-boggling. The director invested millions in pre-production, gathering teams, and pitching scripts, which eventually ended in a tense legal battle with Warner Brothers.

However, for the life of me, I can’t understand why Coppola wanted so badly to make the movie. Michael Jackson was even attached to star at one point, which just makes the whole idea even more unusual. However, I think it’s for the best that the movie was never made, and we have since enjoyed several iterations of the story, including some that provide a darker approach to the narrative than the old familiar Disney movie from 1940.