2024 was a momentous year for movie announcements. There were huge sequels announced with Toy Story 5 and Jurassic World Rebirth being among the biggest. Elsewhere, audiences were treated to new teaser trailers for the upcoming Superman and Lilo and Stich live-action movies.
On the flip side, however, a number of movies, some of which fans had been eagerly anticipating for years, were scrapped in 2024. Whether down to market concerns, licensing issues, production concerns or creative differences, here are 10 movie plans that have been canceled in 2024.
10
‘Wolfs 2’
2021’s Wolfs sees Hollywood titans Brad Pitt and George Clooney cast against each other as professional “fixers” who are hired to “clean up” the same job. While each is normally insistent on being a “lone wolf,” here they are forced to work together as the night spirals into chaos and they inadvertently get caught up in gang warfare and drug conspiracies.
Apple’s Decision to Focus on Streaming Sealed the Fate of ‘Wolfs 2’
Writer and Director Jon Watts has spoken at length about Apple’s plans to make a sequel. Initially, he had stated that it was always Apple’s intention to make a sequel, although he had not written the movie with a sequel in mind and was instead going to “let the audience decide” as to whether they wanted to see more. His stance has changed significantly since, however, after expressing his displeasure with Apple’s decision to pivot the movie straight to its streaming service after a small limited theatrical run. Despite becoming the service’s most-watched movie, he has announced he is no longer interested in making a sequel.
9
‘Planet of the Dead’
In 2021 Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, dropped on Netflix and became a huge success having been watched in 75 million households in its first month. Prior to its release, Netflix had already announced its plans to create a wider cinematic universe based on the movie and had greenlit two prequels: a spin-off prequel film and an anime-style prequel series. Netflix later announced Planet of the Dead which would serve as a direct sequel to Army of the Dead.
Did the Negative Response to ‘Red Moon’ Impact Planet of the Dead’s Future?
The prequel, Army of Thieves, was released just months after Army of the Dead. Things went quiet after that, though, with director Zack Snyder going on to focus on the Red Moon films.
It was recently announced that Planet of the Dead had been canceled, and although no reason has been given, as of yet, it could be speculated that the largely negative response to Snyder’s Red Moon films may have played a part in the decision.
8
‘Coyote vs. Acme’
Based on the iconic Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote, the movie sees the hard-done-by character taking the Acme corporation to court after every one of its products have proven to be wildly defective and have dangerously backfired on Coyote.
The Future Looks Bleak Despite Highly Positive Feedback From Those Who Have Seen the Movie
The movie was initially meant to be released in July 2023, but it was swiftly removed from the release schedule. Warner Bros. has since announced plans to shelve the film considering it for a tax write-off. In 2024, it has been reported that despite interest from streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Paramount, Warner Bros. sought $75–$80 million for the film and rejected offers below this threshold, with insiders confirming it will never see the light of day.
Those who have seen the finished product have expressed great frustration at Warner Bros’ handling of the project claiming it’s a fantastic movie that deserves to be seen.
7
‘The Mothership’
Announced in 2021, The Mothership was set to star Halle Berry as a mother on a rural farm who discovers a strange alien object under her home. The object is somehow linked to her husband’s disappearance and leads her and her children on a perilous adventure to find him.
‘The Mothership’ Has Been In Production Hell
Despite sinking a considerable amount of time and money into the project, Netflix announced in January 2024 that the project had been canned. It’s been reported that the movie took considerably longer than expected to complete and as a result was already going over budget. Despite being completed, it has been reported that it would require “substantial reshoots” before being ready for general release and some of the children had outgrown their roles from when they started, leading Netflix to cancel the movie entirely.
6
‘Ben 10’ Live Action Movie
The critically acclaimed sci-fi action series Ben 10 first premiered on Cartoon Network in 2005 and has since expanded its presence across multiple movies, spin-off shows, video games, and everything in between. While there have been two made-for-tv live action Ben 10 movies, there has never been a big-budget theatrically released live-action movie.
The Rights to the Movie Have Expired
In 2011, it was announced that Joel Silver would be working on a theatrical live-action movie alongside Warner Bros. and Dark Castle Entertainment. Over the next couple of years, sporadic announcements were made regarding its progress until all went quiet in 2013. Over a decade later and it has been revealed that Warner Bros.’ rights to the movie have expired meaning that this iteration of the movie will never come to fruition.
5
Jon Hamm’s ‘Fletch 2’
1985’s Fletch starring comedy legend Chevy Chase was a critical and commercial hit and was followed by the underwhelming 1989 sequel Fletch Lives. Fast-forward to 2021 and a reboot called Confess, Fletch starring John Hamm was released to critical acclaim.
The Next Movie Was to Be Based on the Novel ‘Fletch’s Fortune’
There were rumblings of John Hamm returning for a sequel. Unfortunately, despite being a hit with critics, the reboot underperformed at the box office. This, along with changes of leadership at Miramax have been attributed to the sequel being canceled in 2024.
4
‘Ant-Man 4’
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been an unstoppable behemoth force within the entertainment industry since Robert Downey Jr. first donned the iconic Iron Man suit back in 2008. Among the multiple popular characters to have been introduced to the big screen since is Ant-Man, played by Paul Rudd. The series saw the shrinking superhero star in three solo outings as well as becoming an official Avenger during Avengers: Endgame.
Marvel Has Been Forced to Make Some Difficult Decisions
Due to a variety of reasons including Disney’s updated corporate strategy and decision to reduce spending on underperforming IPs, Marvel was forced to reassess its crowded release schedule. Despite the first two Ant-Man movies performing well critically and commercially, the third entry was marred with production problems and ultimately flopped, seemingly sealing the fate of Ant-Man 4 in the process.
3
‘Splinter Cell’
Working closely with famed thriller author Tom Clancy, Ubisoft developed the stealth adventure video game series Splinter Cell, with the first game hitting shelves in 2002. Since, the series has become among the biggest success stories in video game history. Unsurprisingly, considering its huge success, Ubisoft looked to adapt Splinter Cell for the big screen.
‘Splinter Cell’ Had Been in Development Since 2012
It was originally announced way back in 2012 that a movie was in the works with Tom Hardy being eyed to play the lead role of Sam Fisher. With very few updates being made over the last decade or so, it was finally announced in 2024 that the idea had been scrapped with producer Basil Iwanyk saying, “That movie would have been awesome… Just couldn’t get it right, script-wise, budget-wise.”
2
Todd Haynes’ Joaquin Phoenix Untitled Project
Towards the beginning of 2023, it was announced that director Todd Haynes and Joaquin Phoenix were working together on a boundary-pushing, untitled drama project based around a gay romance set in 1930s Los Angeles. Phoenix was set to star in the leading role and was co-writing the script.
Joaquin Phoenix Was Heavily Involved in the Film’s Development
Just days before the movie was scheduled to begin shooting, Phoenix unexpectedly pulled out of the project. Due to his heavy involvement across all aspects of the movie, his withdrawal has left the project unable to continue. When asked about his decision, Pheonix has chosen to remain tight lipped.
1
‘Eternals 2’
Based on the Marvel Comics of the same name, Eternals was released in 2021, making it the 26th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite an all-star cast including Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, and Kit Harrington, the movie was met with mixed reviews with many feeling its overly ambitious narrative and concept failed to meet the high expectations.
Another of Marvel’s 2024 Scrapped Projects
Under pressure from Disney to focus on guaranteed hits, the mixed reviews of the original Eternals film combined with its middling box office returns meant that Marvel decided to scrap plans for the sequel. As a result, Eternals 2 ended up facing the same fate as several other scrapped planned Marvel projects, including Ant-Man 4, in 2024.
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