10 Awesome-Sounding Sequels That Will Never Happen

10. Inside Man 2

It surely can't be a coincidence that Inside Man, the most overtly-commercial 'Spike Lee Joint' of the often-controversial director's 30 year career, is also his biggest hit. Stepping out of his wheelhouse to make a studio-backed crime thriller, the movie received strong reviews and earned almost $185m at the box office, as well as having an ending that left things open for a sequel.

A clever genre flick that subverts the tropes of the countless heist movies that came before it, Inside Man benefited tremendously from Lee's propulsive energy that offset some of the script's more implausible elements, backed by a fantastic cast that saw Clive Owen, Chiwetel Ejiofor and a scenery-chewing Jodie Foster lend able support to the always-watchable Denzel Washington.

Several months after its release, a sequel was announced with Russell Gewirtz again on writing duties and Lee in negotiations to return behind the camera with all four main cast members reprising their roles. Lee continued to talk up the project for years before it was officially cancelled in 2011, with an inability to secure funding said to be the reason.

Heist movies are ten-a-penny these days and often as generic as they come, so missing out on seeing another one directed by a filmmaker with a unique and distinctive voice such as Spike Lee ranks as a major missed opportunity. In a time where any remotely-profitable movie is instantly granted a follow-up, Inside Man recouped four times its production budget and still couldn't escape from development hell.