10 Most Promising Marvel Movies That Were Tragically Canceled

While the modern Marvel movie landscape arguably began with 1998’s Blade and found its stride with 2008’s Iron Man, it might have looked a lot different if certain movies hadn’t been tragically canceled mid-development. While recent developments have shown that Marvel Studios is not impervious to cancelations, it’s still rare for the studio to commit to a project that ultimately fails to launch, even if it is subject to rocky productions. This is largely thanks to the studio’s makeup, which allows it to streamline the development of IPs it has total purview over.

The years preceding the MCU and Disney’s acquisition of Fox were decidedly more unstable. Learning that an adaptation of a popular character was in the works only for projects to languish in development hell and eventually fall apart was not always surprising for many fans. This awareness doesn’t make their cancelation any less painful, however, and the loss of some movies that may never see the light of day is particularly difficult to stomach.

10

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 Was Intended To Redeem Spider-Man 3

It Was Going To Feature Vulture As The Main Villain

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man helped to revolutionize the superhero genre, and it was followed by one of the best superhero sequels ever made. Spider-Man 3, however, was particularly divisive and suffered from an overstuffed roster of villains that seemingly nailed the coffin for Tobey Maguire’s tenure. Yet Spider-Man 4 was still part of the plan, particularly as middling reviews for Spider-Man 3 didn’t stop it from grossing more than both its predecessors. It reportedly would have debuted John Malkovich as Adrian Toomes/Vulture and Anne Hathaway as Felicia Hardy/Black Cat, while paying off Bruce Campbell’s Spider-Man cameos by revealing him as Mysterio.

Sam Raimi reportedly wished to make Spider-Man 4 in part to redeem the critical failures of Spider-Man 3. Due to the heightened standards, Raimi turned down the initial script offered for the movie, thereby missing the Studio’s deadline and giving way to a reboot instead with The Amazing Spider-Man. Following Maguire’s celebrated reprisal of the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, there have been renewed calls for Spider-Man 4 to re-enter development, and generally positive responses from the original cast and crew optimistically suggest that Spider-Man 4 may not be beyond saving.

9

We Could Have Seen More Of Paul Giamatti’s Rhino In The Amazing Spider-Man 3

The Amazing Spider-Man 3 Might Have Debuted The Sinister Six

Andrew Garfield’s debut in The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel may not have been as critically or financially successful as Tobey Maguire’s, but he remains the preferred live-action Peter Parker for a large swathe of fans. While The Amazing Spider-Man 2 remains the worst-rated Spider-Man movie, it wasn’t for this reason that Sony stifled future installments. Instead, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was planned up until Andrew Garfield snubbed a Sony boss at an event in Brazil, causing the studio to cut ties with the actor.

Had this upset not occurred, the MCU would look decidedly different now as Sony only entered into negotiations with Marvel Studios following this fateful decision. The Amazing Spider-Man 3 would likely have delved into Paul Giamatti’s Rhino, who only cameoed in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as he rampaged through New York in his Rhino-themed mech-suit. This would likely have preceded or even debuted Sony’s Sinister Six adaptation, which was teased in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with Harry Osborn conspiring to form a team of supervillains intended to kill Spider-Man.

8

Sony’s Sinister Six Movie May Never Happen

Sony Really Wants To Make A Sinister Six Adaptation

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 heralded the arrival of the Sinister Six, a team of six Spider-Man villains that have taken on various guises in Marvel Comics. Easter eggs and viral marketing in the form of a sequence of images accessed by using Shazam on the Alicia Keys song in the credits showed that Sony’s initial lineup included Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Rhino, and Vulture. The team would likely have united in The Amazing Spider-Man 3 after Harry Osborn began working on their formation, though this wasn’t Sony’s first attempt at bringing the team to life.

Following Sony’s deal with Marvel Studios, Sony started work on the ill-fated Sony’s Spider-Man Universe franchise, intended to comprise solo outings for a litany of Spider-Man-adjacent rivals and collaborators. While Venom got the franchise off to a good start, Morbius would then foreshadow its demise with a critical and financial bomb. His post-credits scene, however, saw the MCU’s Adrian Toomes conspiring to form a team with Morbius, teasing another version of the Sinister Six down the line. Now that Sony put an indefinite pause on its Marvel movie franchise, the Sinister Six adaptation may never transpire after all.

7

Gambit’s Fortunes Might Change Under Marvel Studios

Channing Tatum Has Been Trying To Make A Gambit Movie Since 2014

The MCU debuted Channing Tatum’s Gambit in one of Deadpool & Wolverine’s best cameo appearances, having him emerge as part of a procession of erstwhile Marvel movie stars. The significance of this cameo may have flown over the heads of the uninitiated, but it was designed to pay off the Gambit movie that Tatum had tried to make with Fox before Disney’s acquisition of the studio halted its development. Similarly to how Ryan Reynolds passionately pursued a Deadpool adaptation to redeem his ill-fated debut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Tatum was always keen to bring his favorite comic-book character to life.

Tatum was cast as Gambit in 2014 and afterward approached multiple directors to get the ball rolling on a movie. It spent the years preceding Disney’s acquisition of Fox in development hell, however, with Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski all being attached to direct at various points in its development. It would have been filmed in New Orleans, true to Gambit’s comic-book origin, and co-starred Marvel’s Bella Donna Boudreaux, a character with whom Gambit shares a star-crossed romance. Thankfully, the positive response to Gambit’s MCU debut has sparked conversation about a possible reprisal, though details remain scarce.

6

Quentin Tarantino Nearly Made A Luke Cage Movie

Quentin Tarantino Tried To Adapt His Favorite Marvel Comics Character With Laurence Fishburne

In the same decade that Blade helped to establish Marvel’s cinematic presence, illustrious auteur Quentin Tarantino pursued a Luke Cage movie, as Luke Cage was his favorite superhero growing up. Tarantino ultimately halted progress on his Luke Cage adaptation after failing to settle on a lead. Speaking to Amy Schumer on her podcast, Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith, Tarantino revealed that he wanted Laurence Fishburne to play the character, but his friends sowed seeds of doubt by pushing him to cast Wesley Snipes. His full quote is as follows:

“All my friends were like, ‘No, no, no, man, it’s got to be Wesley Snipes, and I go, ‘Well look, I like Wesley Snipes, but I mean, Larry Fishburne is practically Marlon Brando. I mean, I think ‘Fish’ is the man.’”

After setting Luke Cage on the back burner, Tarantino would instead shift focus to the comic-book-tinged Pulp Fiction and later Jackie Brown. Tarantino clarified that Jackie Brown was the movie that technically replaced his Luke Cage adaptation. Based on Tarantino’s notoriously violent and R-rated works, it can be assumed that his version of Luke Cage would have been a no-holds-barred romp in the same vein as Blade, which ironically starred the actor that complicated Tarantino’s own Marvel movie designs.

5

Silver Surfer Has Fallen At Several Hurdles

A Silver Surfer Adaptation Was Being Discussed In The Late 1970s

Following the failure to adapt Luke Cage, Laurence Fishburne would instead make his comic book movie debut in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as the voice of the titular character. This was intended to precede a Silver Surfer solo movie developed by Fox which would have delved into Norin Radd’s origins as Galactus’ herald with J. Michael Straczynski chosen to write the screenplay. Following the disappointing performance of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, however, this movie would never so much as receive a director.

This was only the latest in a few failed attempts to get a Silver Surfer movie to the big screen. Interestingly, the Silver Surfer was another character that Quentin Tarantino wanted to adapt to the big screen, pitching a fully-written script to the German studio, Constantin Film, before being turned away. A wild Silver Surfer adaptation was also nearly adapted by Xanadu producer Lee Kramer around a decade prior, where he envisaged Silver Surfer as the star of a rock opera penned by Paul McCartney, though it would fail to get off the ground.

4

Namor Was Supposed To Debut Much Earlier Than Black Panther 2

Phillip Kaufman Wanted To Make An Ecology-Focussed Namor Movie

Like Hulk, Namor is embroiled in a complicated history of film rights tied to Marvel Studios and Universal Pictures, with the most recent update from Feige suggesting that Universal still owned distribution rights for a solo movie. This solo movie nearly materialized in the early 2000s, with Chris Columbus and Jonathan Mostow both being attached to direct at certain points. Before Universal held the rights to Namor, however, Philip Kaufman intended to direct a Namor adaptation of his own, which would have reportedly delved into environmentalism.

Kaufman entered into negotiations with Marvel in 1997 and began developing Namor: Sub-Mariner shortly thereafter. He expressed an interest in the antihero for the interesting morals he could embody, taking aim at surface-dwellers for their ecological impact rather than any singular enemy or adversarial entity. It would have been an intriguing way for a Marvel character to tackle such hot-button topics as the climate, with Kaufman’s credentials promising a quality early superhero movie.

3

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty Was Teased In A Post-Credits Scene

Kang The Conqueror Has Been Sidelined After Being The Arch-Villain

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was initially the Multiverse Saga’s first Avengers movie before Avengers: Doomsday was confirmed to be taking its place at 2024’s San Diego Comic-Con. As the name suggests, it would have centered Jonathan Majors’ Kang as the arch-villain, an eventuality set up in the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania​​​​​ and the Council of Kangs’ debut. Unfortunately, a miasma of unfortunate occurrences spelled doom for the climactic movie, not least of which being the firing of Jonathan Majors following his assault conviction.

The news that Kang would be sidelined in favor of Doom was met with mixed reactions. Jonathan Majors’ portrayal of Kang was largely celebrated and he was swiftly established as a particularly formidable arch-villain. Rumors have begun swirling around Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’s story details, but Loki foreshadowed that Kang would orchestrate a multiversal war that would have likely been central to the main plot. It’s unclear whether Kang will play a role in Avengers: Doomsday now that the TVA has been seemingly repurposed to root out Kang variants to help stave off the erstwhile threat.

2

The Incredible Hulk 2 Could Have Improved The MCU’s Hulk

Hulk’s Story Still Feels Underserved

The Incredible Hulk was the MCU’s second-ever release after Iron Man in 2008. While it remained the MCU’s lowest-grossing movie until that spot was claimed by 2023’s The Marvels, Edward Norton had initially signed a two-movie deal with Marvel and Universal. Unfortunately, creative differences while working on The Incredible Hulk caused Norton’s relationship with Marvel Studios to sour, thereby splitting the two and helping to quash the chance of a sequel. Now, a similar situation to Namor surrounding distribution rights seems to preclude the MCU’s Hulk from starring in another solo movie.

This means that Hulk may never be fleshed out beyond his collaborative appearances with his fellow Avengers. Of all the Avengers, Hulk is widely seen as the most underserved, despite Bruce Banner being one of the most interesting characters in Marvel Comics. Nevertheless, hope remains now that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law debuted Hulk’s son, Skaar, suggesting that Marvel Studios may wish to delve further into Hulk’s story after all.

1

X-Men: Fear the Beast Would Have Continued Hank McCoy’s Story

Hank McCoy Is One Of The Most Compelling X-Men

Fox’s X-Men: Fear the Beast would have been a rare solo venture for one of its core characters, with the same privilege only ever being afforded to Wolverine thus far. Picking up with the younger cohort of X-Men where Nicholas Hoult portrays Hank McCoy, X-Men: Fear the Beast would have centered on Beast, Wolverine, and the main villain of the movie, Wendigo. A leaked script for the solo Beast movie shows what was planned for the movie, and worsens the impact of its cancelation.

It would have been refreshing to see Fox highlight a character other than Wolverine in its Marvel movie franchise. Beast is one of the most interesting characters on the titular team, and it looks as though this adaptation would have delved into Beast’s constant struggle with his beastly appearance in contrast to his deeply intellectual mind. While it’s no real surprise that Wolverine would still have played a starring role, it was reportedly supposed to have debuted a new actor in the role.

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Source: Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith