20 Failed Movie Plans That'll Ruin Your Day

6. Martin Scorsese's Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

After the feverish success of his neo-noir masterpiece Taxi Driver, Martin Scorsese was the hottest ticket in Hollywood, sought out by studios, producers and A-list actors to bring their visions to the screen. 

The sheer volume of projects Marty could have directed are staggering - a thriller about the Honeymoon Killers, and a drama about one of his idols, George Gershwin, to name only two - but perhaps the most exciting what-could-have-been came from Marlon Brando, who wanted the director to adapt Dee Brown's classic Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. 

The book, detailing over a century of displacement and genocide suffered by the Native Americans, spoke to Brando's political activism and Marty's unflinching look at the worst of American history with perfect harmony, but other projects kept the pair from bringing their idea to life. 

Given the subject matter (and the fact Marty and Brando never worked together!), this is one project that seemed a match made in heaven - though, silver lining, Scorsese did get a chance to tear into one of America's darkest chapters decades later, with the pulverising Killers of the Flower Moon.