9 Movies That Escaped Development Hell

Sometimes they're genuinely worth the wait too...

By Padraig Cotter /

Development Hell is that curious limbo some movies find themselves trapped in on their way to the big screen. These are projects the studio feels has huge potential, but for any number of factors €“ bad scripts, not being about to find a suitable star, the projected budget is too high €“ they end up being worked on endlessly. Some of them will eventually escape, but the majority usually stay in prison. Famous examples of potentially awesome projects stuck in this halfway house include Hellboy III, At The Mountains Of Madness (poor Del Toro has no luck), Halo and Bill And Ted 3, but they have little chance of parole. Hope springs eternal, however, with longtime detainees such as Dark Tower, Independence Day: Resurgence and Ghostbusters having recently got released; time will only tell if that€™s a good thing. While the long cycle of development can often hurt a movie, there are plenty of examples of great movies that emerged from their long torment; be it belated sequels or ambitious original ideas. Presented here is a list of long-brewing movies that manage to come through the process; some of them without scars, and a couple that probably could have used a couple more years of cooking.