10 Movies Stuck In Development Hell That I Really Hope Still Release

Some movies have been stuck in development hell for what seems like ages that I know a lot of people would still like to see get made. With so many unwanted upcoming sequels and remakes, I and many other people are wondering why Hollywood doesn’t spend its time on more promising sequels or original ideas, as well as book-to-movie adaptations that are practically guaranteed to be a success. Certain projects already have a particular director or lead actor attached to them, making people even more eager to see that movie come to fruition.

Some of the movies I would still like to see include classic book adaptations stuck in development and fantasy books with planned adaptations. If these movies are ever made, they could break the mold of current Hollywood trends, be the perfect combination of story and directorial vision, or just be plain fun. Movie fans are always frustrated by the concept of development hell when it inherently means that movies they would love to see are stuck in limbo, with no way of knowing if they will ever get off the ground.

10 Shrek 5

Shrek’s Answer To Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

The latest news concerning Shrek 5 includes a 2026 summer release date and the return of Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz. This has allowed Shrek fans (including me) to be cautiously optimistic about the movie’s progress, which had been in development for years before this announcement. The last Shrek movie devolved into a very fanfiction-like alternate reality scenario, but it was ironically enjoyable. What has changed for the franchise since then is the advent of Puss in Boots.

Puss in the Boots: The Last Wish shook things up for the Shrek universe with a new animation style and some fresh storytelling. The movie ends with Puss and his new friends arriving in Far Far Away, implying that he is about to reunite with Shrek and the rest. I am hoping that Shrek going forward will adopt stylized 3D animation, and I know everyone wants Antonio Banderas to also return. Hopefully, Shrek 5 will happen soon and will live up to the latest Puss in Boots movie.

9 The Cruel Prince

The Folk Of The Air Movie Could Kickstart More YA Fantasy Adaptations

In 2017, Deadline reported that Universal Pictures had acquired the rights to Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince before the book itself was even released. With producer Michael De Luca attached to the project, the studio seemed fairly confident in the marketability of a movie based on The Cruel Prince given Black’s status as the co-author of The Spiderwick Chronicles and the rise of the romantasy genre. However, nothing else has been reported about this movie since. At least there are now even better actors to join the Cruel Prince cast.

The decent reception of the new Spiderwick Chronicles TV show might convince Universal to pick up this project again. In general, I am astounded that several studios and networks are letting their young adult fantasy properties languish in development when they could be extremely profitable. Things like The Cruel Prince and the A Court of Thorns and Roses TV show don’t seem to be moving forward when a dedicated fanbase already exists. I would also just love to see the Spiderwick-inspired aesthetics of The Cruel Prince come to life on screen.

8 A Devil In The White City

Another Scorsese & Leo Crime Drama That Sounds Fantastic

A movie adaptation of Erik Larson’s bestselling non-fiction novel A Devil in the White City has been in development since 2010, when Leonardo DiCaprio bought the rights with plans to star in the movie himself with Martin Scorsese directing (via Deadline). DiCaprio and Scorsese were briefly working to develop it into a miniseries with Keanu Reeves starring, but these plans fell through. They could still take it in the direction of a movie or TV show — but given the recent success of Killers of the Flower Moon, they are probably at least considering a movie.

Recent updates that the project is still on the table have left people relieved that A Devil in the White City is still happening after a decade and a half in development hell. A Devil in the White City recounts the events at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, following the fair’s architect Daniel Burnham, and serial killer H. H. Holmes, who used the fair as cover for murders. Scorsese and DiCaprio are always amazing together when it comes to crime dramas; I would also love to see them get Reeves back, with him and DiCaprio taking the two main roles.

7 Luca Guadagnino’s Lord Of The Flies

Lord Of The Flies Is A Classic Novel That Could Use A New Adaptation

Luca Guadagnino’s Lord of the Flies remake was first announced in 2019; the director has since kept busy with other projects. The most recent update for Lord of the Flies came in September 2023, in the form of a general reassurance that they are working on the script which will lean more into the story’s aspects of psychological horror. Especially in the wake of the similar story depicted in Yellowjackets, I am eager to see what Guadagnino does with this classic novel.

Guadagnino understands how to press the psychological narratives of stressed characters in the most specific of scenarios, as seen with his recent movie Challengers. However, he hasn’t done anything major that focuses on children the way Lord of the Flies does, making this movie an interesting challenge for him. Additionally, the 1990 Lord of the Flies received average reviews, and Guadagnino’s movie could be a chance for the themes to come across better in a cinematic format.

6 Crazy Rich Asians 2

Rachel & Nick’s Adventures In China Rich Girlfriend Are Even More Decadent

There is so much more in store for the characters in Crazy Rich Asians that haven’t yet made it to the big screen. Following Crazy Rich Asians’ massive success, a swift sequel seemed like a given — yet the China Rich Girlfriend adaptation has been stuck in development. A Crazy Rich Asians spinoff following Astrid and Charlie — one of the biggest storylines to get cut from the first movie that could be done justice in a sequel — was also rumored. Now, a Crazy Rich Asians TV show is said to be in the works.

However, nothing is known about the plot of the TV show, including whether it is supposed to replace the Astrid and Charlie movie or cover Rachel and Nick’s lives in the sequel books or both. Me personally — I would still love to see another Crazy Rich Asians movie. I’m all for TV shows being used to tell extensive stories, but I think these books can be effectively adapted into movies and the glitz and glamour is right at home in the theater setting. However, it’s not clear if they’ve completely written off all their old movie ideas.

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5 Guillermo del Toro’s At The Mountains Of Madness

At The Mountains Of Madness Is The Fantasy-Horror Everyone Wants To See

Guillermo del Toro’s long fluctuating At the Mountains of Madness project has become a kind of martyr to those who are fans of the genre and the director. Pretty much everyone wants to see it happen, making it all the more strange that Hollywood won’t just give del Toro what he needs to do it. Del Toro has been trying to adapt H. P. Lovecraft’s sci-fi horror novella since 2006, when he and Matthew Robbins completed their screenplay. Since then, the movie has been rejected, ended up in debates over an R/PG-13 rating, and fallen into limbo again.

Del Toro is a master of sci-fi and fantasy who has produced hugely successful R-rated movies in this genre, and again, people are clamoring for At the Mountains of Madness. It’s a mystery why any studio wouldn’t just pick up this project when it will more than likely be spectacular. There has been no news on del Toro’s At the Mountains of Madness in recent years, but most refuse to completely give up on it.

4 National Treasure 3

The National Treasure Franchise Can Still Make A Comeback

Back in the day, National Treasure found itself a somewhat niche audience who would overlook the loose logic of the story for the pure entertainment of a detective-style adventure with kernels of real history. I also thought National Treasure: Edge of History had a lot going for it and wouldn’t mind if they brought back the show’s cast for National Treasure 3. Despite this sequel having been in development for more than 15 years, screenwriter Ted Elliot recently teased new story details.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets set up the now infamous page 47 mystery that was meant to be the basis of the sequel. Truthfully, I don’t expect National Treasure 3 to be an amazing feat of filmmaking. However, it could be incredibly satisfying to see this mystery resolved after so long in the real world and still result in an impactful movie if they build upon what the spinoff series started.

3 Disney’s Rose-Red

The Intriguing Snow White Spinoff Has Been Dormant At Disney

Rose-Red seems to be a Disney Princess movie that will never see the light of day. The idea comes from the classic fairy tale “Snow-White and Rose-Red,” about a pair of sisters completely unrelated to “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” However, Disney discussed the idea of a spinoff where Rose-Red was made Snow White’s sister as early as the days following Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ release. Nothing ever came of it, but The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2016 that Disney was once again working on the project.

A couple of years later, Yahoo! brought up the planned movie with Brie Larson reportedly attached to the lead role; nothing has been said about it since. In the age of so many Disney live-action remakes, Rose-Red could revamp Disney’s lineup with a darker story based on a lesser-known fairy tale. However, I don’t think Larson is who they should cast to make this movie a creepier counterpart to Snow White — Cailee Spaeny or Jenna Ortega would be great.

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2 The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue

The Life & Times Of Addie LaRue Needs To Make It To The Big Screen

The last update for the movie adaptation of V. E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue came in October 2023, when the bestselling author said that before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the “script was being revised and well on its way to casting” (via TODAY.com). Schwab’s corpus of popular fantasy novels also holds a lot of untapped potential for Hollywood, despite everyone looking for epic fantasy ready to be adapted nowadays. Addie LaRue will be a challenging novel to turn into a movie, but with the right director, it could be the year’s biggest hit.

Following a young woman who makes a Faustian bargain for immortality but is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets, Addie LaRue leans into some surreal and abstract plot elements. However, I believe that it is possible for its profound themes to find a home in cinema. This could be an entrancing and bittersweet movie if done right and I hope Schwab is telling the truth, and we will soon hear some casting news.

1 Mahershala Ali’s Blade

Blade Is Currently The Biggest Question Mark For The MCU

Mahershala Ali’s Blade movie’s future is as uncertain as ever following San Diego Comic-Con 2024. The MCU’s rendition of Blade has been in development since 2019, gaining and losing various actors and directors along the way, with the only consistent feature being that Ali is staring. At Comic-Con, Kevin Feige provided updates on almost every other known MCU movie in development — except for Blade, leaving people wondering if it is even happening. It is almost certainly not going to be done by its reported November 2025 release date.

However, I still hope Blade gets a lucky break and the MCU pulls this one together. Blade is one of the grimmest, most intriguing Marvel characters and Ali is as amazing of a recast as the MCU could hope for. I want to see some vampires enter the MCU for a completely wild new story to break up the superhero fatigue. Yet Blade is still stuck in development hell along with many other great movie ideas that Hollywood seems to be ignoring.

Source: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Yahoo!, TODAY.com