There is a growing trend in Hollywood where an increasing number of completed films are being shelved or permanently canceled. This raises the question: which of these intriguing projects would you most like to see brought to light? Share your thoughts with us!
In the past, it was quite uncommon for a completed film to be shelved indefinitely. While there have always been instances where movies lingered in limbo for years, they typically found their way to audiences eventually. The Weinstein brothers gained notoriety for shelving films during their tenure at Miramax, but notable cases like Prozac Nation, which remained unreleased for four years, ultimately hit the screens. Up until a few years ago, the Jerry Lewis film The Day the Clown Cried was often cited as one of the rare examples of a finished film that was permanently shelved, a decision made by Lewis himself, who vowed it would never be released (you can view an unofficial thirty-minute reconstruction here).
However, the landscape has drastically changed in recent years, with a growing number of films being canceled even after their production has concluded. Two prominent examples from Warner Bros, led by studio head David Zaslav, include the much-anticipated films Batgirl and Coyote vs Acme, both of which were scrapped in favor of significant tax write-downs. This trend is not limited to Warner Bros; Netflix has also made headlines by canceling the Halle Berry sci-fi film The Mothership. Recently, two completed films faced the same fate: Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry halted their film Golden at Universal, while Netflix shelved Ezra Edelman?s nine-hour documentary series about Prince following pressure from the late artist?s estate. Moreover, we must consider numerous other projects that have vanished from streaming platforms, such as Disney Plus?s Willow series, which initially aired but has now become lost media (though, if you know where to search, they are still accessible online). With so many films being shelved, we invite you to participate in the poll below and let us know which of these abandoned movies you would most like to see!
