During his long career, American-born British film director Terry Gilliam has worked on a number of projects that never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these productions fell into development hell or were cancelled. The following is a list of projects in roughly chronological order.[1]
After directing The Life of Brian, Gilliam considered making a film adaption of Mervyn Peakes' fantasy novel Gormenghast. The owner of the rights wanted Peter Sellers to play the character Doctor Prunesquallor. Gilliam ultimately decided to not make the film because he had spent too much time thinking about it, did not have enough money to make it, and had already reused some of his ideas for it in his film Jabberwocky.[1][3]
Terry Gilliam was at one point interested in making a film adaption of the children's picture book Fungus the Bogeyman before 2004 BBC television adaption.[4][5]
Watchmen
In 1989, Gilliam and film producer Joel Silver unsuccessfully attempted to make a film adaptation of Alan Moore's Watchmen.[6] Gilliam was, reportedly, Moore's first choice to direct the film.[7] Gilliam tried to make the film again in 1996 but was unsuccessful.[8]
In 1992, it was reported that Gilliam was going to make The Defective Detective next after The Fisher King (1991), only to abandon it in favor of making a Don Quixote film.[11] Then, Gilliam worked on The Defective Detective again, only to reject it in favor of directing 12 Monkeys (1995) instead.[12][13] Then, the Los Angeles Times reported in 1996 that Gilliam was working on The Defective Detective script with Richard LaGravenese.[14] According to the L.A. Times, the story was "about a middle-aged New York cop who’s having a nervous breakdown and ends up in a fantasy world."[14] The film was to have been produced by Scott Rudin and Margie Simkin and distributed by Paramount Pictures.[15]Nicolas Cage was to star in the film.[9][16] In addition to Cage, Bruce Willis, Cameron Diaz, and Nick Nolte were attached to the project.[17]Danny DeVito was also attached to the project.[18][19] Gilliam claims that Sean Connery was also involved.[20] In February 1997, Paramount put the film in turnaround.[21]
In June 2015, Gilliam hinted that The Defective Detective could possibly be made into a miniseries on Amazon Prime Video.[22][23]Variety reported in November that same year that Gilliam and LaGravenese regained the rights to the script from Paramount and "reworked it as a six-hour miniseries."[24]
In 1994, Gilliam attempted to make a film adaptation of Charles DickensA Tale of Two Cities with Mel Gibson starring.[26][27][28][29] However, Gibson dropped out of the project in favor of directing and starring in Braveheart (1995).[9][14] After Gibson left the project, Gilliam replaced him with Liam Neeson and attempted to make the film for half the initial budget, but to no avail.[2]Madeleine Stowe was also attached to the project.[30] The film was ultimately shelved due to budget and casting reasons.[30][31][32] Gilliam then made 12 Monkeys (1995) instead.[14][33] When asked in 2009 if he still expressed interest in making the film, Gilliam replied, "Nah. That’s dead. That’s over."[34]
Loony Tunes
Also in 1994, Gilliam was involved as director of a script called Loony Tunes, which revolved around a normal guy who continually morphs into a cartoon character. Gilliam worked for months on the idea, "but it went nowhere." A similarly plotted film, The Mask, was made instead.[1]
Son of Strangelove
In 1995, Stanley Kubrick hired Terry Southern to write the script that would have been the sequel to Kubrick's 1964 film Dr. Strangelove.[35] The film was to have been titled Son of Strangelove, and Kubrick wanted Gilliam to direct it.[36] The script was never completed.[37] Gilliam said in 2013, "I was told after Kubrick died—by someone who had been dealing with him—that he had been interested in trying to do another Strangelove with me directing. I never knew about that until after he died but I would have loved to."[38][39]
Time Bandits II
In 1996, Gilliam and Charles McKeown wrote two drafts of an unproduced script titled Time Bandits II, which would have been the sequel to Time Bandits (1981).[40] Gilliam was to have produced the sequel and not direct it.[14] In 2001, Gilliam and McKeown attempted to make Time Bandits II as a television miniseries for the Hallmark Channel.[2][41][42]
The Truman Show
Gilliam was among the filmmakers considered to direct The Truman Show (1998) before Peter Weir assumed the position.[43]
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Gilliam was reportedly J.K. Rowling's first choice to direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), the first film of the Harry Potter movies.[7][44][45][46] In a 2013 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gilliam stated, "J.K. Rowling and the producer wanted me. Then wiser people — studio heads — prevailed. I was the clear choice. At one point they approached Alan Parker and he said, 'Why are you talking to me? Gilliam is the guy who should be doing this!' But I knew I was never going to get the job."[47] Gilliam was ultimately rejected by Warner Bros.[31][32][48] Instead, the studio replaced Gilliam with Chris Columbus.[49][50][51] Gilliam reportedly criticized the studio's decision to pick Columbus over him and stated, "I was the perfect guy to do Harry Potter. I remember leaving the meeting, getting in my car, and driving for about two hours along Mulholland Drive just so angry. I mean, Chris Columbus' versions are terrible. Just dull. Pedestrian."[52][53][54]
It was rumored that Gilliam may direct or be involved in the production of the animated Gorillaz movie. In a September 2006 interview with Uncut, Damon Albarn was reported to have said, "we're making a film. We've got Terry Gilliam involved."[69] However, in a more recent interview with Gorillaz-Unofficial, Jamie Hewlett, the co-creator of the band, stated that since the time of the previous interview, Damon's and his own interest in the film had lessened. In an August 2008 Observer interview, Gorillaz band members Albarn and Hewlett revealed the nature and title of the project, Journey to the West, a film adaptation of the opera of the same name, based on a 16th-century Chinese adventure story also known as Monkey.[70] In January 2008, while on set of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Gilliam stated that he was looking forward to the project, "[b]ut [he's] still waiting to see a script!".[71]
The Sandman
In 2007, Neil Gaiman expressed interest in having Gilliam direct a film adaptation of The Sandman, but the director was too preoccupied with Good Omens at the moment.[72]
During the second half of 2011, Gilliam and Paul Auster wrote a screenplay for a film adaptation of Auster's novel Mr. Vertigo.[74][75] In June 2018, Gilliam announced at the Brussels International Film Festival that he was working again on Mr. Vertigo, that it might be his next film, and that he had Ralph Fiennes attached to star in it.[76][77]
Untitled stop-motion film
In 2014, Gilliam was in talks to make his first animated feature film with Laika, the studio behind Coraline and ParaNorman.[78]
Lunatic at Large
In 2020, Gilliam was attached to direct a film based on an unproduced Stanley Kubrick project titled Lunatic at Large. A September shoot was scheduled, but these plans were scrapped as result of the COVID-19 pandemic. "There was a script and I had a cast, but the lockdown has ruined everything," Gilliam said.[79] The film would have starred Benicio Del Toro, Matthias Schoenaerts and Lily-Rose Depp.[80]
The Carnival at the End of Days
As early as 2021, Gilliam revealed that he was working on a new script for a film in which "God finally decides to destroy humanity - for desecrating the beautiful garden he created."[81] In 2022, he stated that he conceived the overall idea while in self-isolation in Italy, during the COVID-19 pandemic.[82]
In an interview Gilliam gave to BBC Radio in February 2023, it was confirmed that he had enlisted the duties of Christopher Brett Bailey in helping him to co-write the project. In April that year, reports emerged that the film would be titled The Carnival at the End of Days.[83][84] In 2024, Gilliam announced to Première that production was expected to begin in January 2025. The film was to star Johnny Depp as Satan and Jeff Bridges as God, along with Adam Driver and Jason Momoa.[85] However, by late September 2024, Gilliam stated to Czech media that he did not have enough money that was required to make the film.[86]
Gilliam also turned down the offer to direct Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).[88] According to Gilliam, "I passed on that one, but that didn't matter because it was just at a stage when it was still just the book and I didn't want to get into animation. I just read the book and said, 'This is too much work.' Pure laziness on my part."[88] The film wound up being directed by Robert Zemeckis.[89]
Gilliam confirmed in 2018 that he turned down an offer to direct one of the sequels to Alien (1979).[91] It is presumed he turned down Alien 3 (1992), even though Gilliam did not specify which of the sequels he was referring to.[92]
Gilliam turned down the offer to direct Braveheart (1995).[95]
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Gilliam turned down the offer to direct Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), the sixth film of the series.[96] When asked if he was interested in directing any of the Harry Potter movies, Gilliam replied, "Warner Bros. had their chance the first time around, and they blew it. It's a factory job, that's what it is, and I know the way it's done. I've had too many friends work on those movies. I know the way it works, and that's not the way I work."[97] In 2011, Gilliam expressed his regret at entering into talks to direct the first Harry Potter film.[98]
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