Sometimes films spend so long indevelopment hellthat it feels like they’ll never get made, only for the stars to finally align and the movie to make it to theaters. While setbacks on a film production are common, there are certain movies that are continually stalled, and months turn into years, and sometimes even decades. However, the fact that the creatives behind these movies never lost faith is a testament to their belief in the project and that true determination and perseverance can have extraordinary results.
There are lots of famous instances ofmovies that took a ridiculous amount of time to make, with some of the wildest examples taking upwards of 80 years before finally making it to the big screen. Beingstuck in development hellis notoriously difficult circumstances for a film to crawl its way out of, but it’s always great when a director manages to get theirlong-standing passion projectoff the ground. Although not every one of these movies did well at the box office or was a hit with critics,the fact that they were made at all is already incredibly impressive.
10Alien Vs. Predator (2004)
In Development Hell: 14 Years
The crossover movieAlien vs. Predatortook two all-time great horror franchises,AlienandPredator, and brought them together for a lackluster film that disappointed fans of both franchises. While the concept itself was great, the execution left a lot to be desired and did not live up to the great comic series that it was based on. Despite being a poor addition to both franchises,Alien vs. Predatorhad a long production historyand was stuck in development hell for 14 years.
The first script forAlien vs. Predatorwas written by Peter Briggs back in 1990, and he successfully pitched it to 20th Century Fox in 1991. However, the company did not move forward with the film until 2002, and by that point, they decided they wanted a new script (viaIGN.) Eventually,Event Horizondirector Paul W. S. Anderson joined the film as director and writer, and it was at last released in 2004.
928 Years Later (2025)
In Development Hell: 17 Years
The third entry in the iconic zombie series,28 Years Later, was first announced back in 2007, but the underperformance of28 Weeks Laterput these plans on hold (viaBloody Disgusting.) Instead, the film languished in development hell for years with sporadic updates from the original28 Days Laterdirector, Danny Boyle, and screenwriter Alex Garland. As time went on, the film felt increasingly unlikely, but interest in a sequel never went away, and in 2023, plans for Boyle, Garland, and the original star Cillian Murphy to reunite for a sequel were announced.
Not only was28 Years Laterconfirmed to be happening (viaHollywood Reporter), but it was also set to be the first in a brand-new trilogy exploring the effects of the Rage Virus decades after it had collapsed society and turned everyday people into fast-moving zombies. Sadly,plans for Murphy to reprise his original role of Jim never came to fruition, but he remained onboard as an executive producer. With Jodie Comer as the new lead,28 Years Lateris set to be released on August 16, 2025.
In Development Hell: 28 Years
TheMad Maxfranchise came from the mind of the Australian filmmaker George Miller, who envisioned a fourth film in the series way back in 1987; however, it would be 28 years before audiences finally got to seeMad Max: Fury Road. While this wasoriginally intended as a sequel toBeyond Thunderdomewith Mel Gibson reprising his role as Max, the film was continually delayed to the point that the lead character was recast.
While Miller planned to getMad Max: Fury Roadinto production in the early 2000s, the attacks on June 19, 2025, meant the project was put on hold (viaTime Out.) Add to this, Gibson had become embroiled in several Hollywood controversies in the years since Miller first conceived the sequel, and in 2012, he recast Tom Hardy in the role of Max. Even after filming had at last commenced, it still took three years for production to be completed, andMad Max: Fury Roadwas released to widespread critical acclaim in 2015.
7The Thief And The Cobbler (1993)
In Development Hell: 29 Years
The Thief and the Cobblerwas an incredibly ambitious movie from Canadian animator Richard Williams, which he intended to serve as a new milestone in the world of animation. With plans for the film dating back to 1964, it took almost three decades for him to finally get the project made. In the intervening years, Williams built up his reputation working on films likeWho Framed Roger Rabbit, and it was these successes that allowed him to secure funding (viaCulture Cartel) and distribution through Warner Bros.
However, the story does not end there, asThe Thief and the Cobblerwent over budget and Williams fell behind schedule. This meant he was pushed out of the production of his own movie, and an unfinished version of the film was released to negative reviews in 1993. Williams was left so heartbroken by the whole fiasco that he has never even seen the theatrically released version of his own passion project.
6Wicked (2024)
While the 2003 stage musicalWickedis one of the most beloved shows ever put on Broadway, plans for a movie adaptation actually date back to 1995. As the show was based onThe Wizard of Ozprequel novel by Gregory Maguire,Universal Pictures actually bought the rights to the novel back in the late 1990s. With the Broadway musical adaptation being a major hit, the question on everybody’s lips for years was when a movie version of the show was going to make it to the big screen.
Throughout the years, aWickedmovie went through many false starts, with talk of a made-for-TV movie adaptation and even a miniseries (via7x7) being reported on in 2009. With a long development that was further delayed due to the onset of COVID-19,Wickedwas at last released in 2024. With Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the lead roles,Wickedwas a major hit, and a part two, titledWicked: For Good, is set for release in November 2025.
5The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
In Development Hell: 32 Years
Monty Python member Terry Gilliam has been behind plenty of cult classics likeBrazil,Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and12 Monkeys, although one movie he struggled to get made wasThe Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Gilliam first started developing the film back in 1989, but it would not be until 1998 that it finally entered production. However, these plans fell through after the set was plagued by floods (viaBFI), and enough setbacks occurred that the film was cancelled altogether.
Gilliam attempted to restart production several times throughout the 2000s, and, after so many setbacks,The Man Who Killed Don Quixotestarted to earn a reputation as a cursed film. While it looked like this project would never be made, in 2016, Gilliam finally succeeded in getting production started again after Paulo Branco came on board as producer and Adam Driver was cast as the lead. After more than 30 years, Gilliam’s take on Miguel de Cervantes’s classic novel was finally released in 2018.
4The Irishman (2019)
In Development Hell: 35 years
The Irishmanwas the ninth collaboration between director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro, although the pair first came up with the idea decades before it was finally released. WhileThe Irishmanwas an adaptation of the 2004 non-fiction bookI Heard You Paint Housesby Charles Brandt, Scorsese and De Niro had an idea for a movie about an aging hitman as far back as the 1980s, and it was onlyafter reading Brandt’s book that the plans were revisited.
The Irishmanentered the development stage back in 2007, although rewrites and setbacks meant Scorsese madeHugo,The Wolf of Wall Street, andSilenceduring the intervening years. At last, in 2017, filming actually started with an all-star cast including De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino in his one and only Scorsese movie. Through the use of de-aging technology,The Irishmantold an epic gangster story across decades and stood out as a late-career triumph from Scorsese.
3Barbie (2023)
In Development Hell: 40+ years
The iconic Mattel fashion doll was first introduced back in 1959, and it’s wild that it took so long for a live-actionBarbiemovie to finally be made. While there were plenty of animatedBarbiemovies over the years, discussions about a live-action feature starring the titular toy began during the 1980s and went through many stages of development before finally making it to the screen. In 2016, comedian Amy Schumer was in talks to star in aBarbiemovie (viaEW), but the role eventually went to Margot Robbie with Greta Gerwig onboard as director.
Gerwig’sBarbiewas a major hit with viewers, whose feminist underpinnings struck a chord with audiences worldwide. Add to this, the natural hype that developed due toBarbie’srelease coinciding with Christopher Nolan’sOppenheimerled to the highly memeable cultural phenomenon known asBarbenheimer. With stars aligned perfectly for box office success,Barbiesurpassed everyone’s wildest expectations and grossed nearly $1.5 billion (viaBox Office Mojo) at the box office.
2Megalopolis (2024)
In Development Hell: 47 Years
The Godfatherdirector Francis Ford Coppola conceived the idea forMegalopolisduring the filming ofApocalypse Nowin 1977 (viaMovie Web.) With hundreds of pages of notes and script fragments, over the subsequent decades Coppola drew from political cartoons, historical subjects, and countless other sources to flesh out his plans for a futuristic Roman empire reimagining of modern America. While Coppola had several films considered among the greatest movies ever made, he sawMegalopolisas his magnum opus.
However, the lofty ambitions ofMegalopolismeant it was always going to be an expensive movie to make, and as Coppola’s career went through downturns in the 1980s and 1990s, it was increasingly difficult for him to secure funding. In the end,Coppola decided to bet on himself and invest $120 million of his own money into getting the movie made. The results were a divisive film that flopped at the box office, with some saying it’s laughably bad but others claiming it stands out as one of Coppola’s most accomplished works.
1John Carter (2012)
In Development Hell: 81 Years
While plenty of movies have languished in development hell for years or even decades, few havethe troubled production history ofJohn Carter. As the notorious Disney box office flop, not only wasJohn Carterone of the biggest bombs in history, but it took 81 years for this Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptation to make it to the big screen. Based on the 1912 fantasy novelA Princess of Mars,Burroughs was first approached about making the movie that would becomeJohn Carterback in 1931.
These early plans to makeA Princess of Marsmovie never made it past the early stages as audiences reacted negatively to test footage. With a potential adaptation from stop-motion director Ray Harryhausen proposed in the late 1950s, and plans were reinvigorated during the 1980s to be a competitor toStar Wars, the film could never seem to get off the ground. When Disney finally managed to releaseJohn Carterin 2012, they invested over $300 million into the film, and it only grossed $284 million worldwide.
