10 Films That Were Stuck In Development Hell For Years

The Watchmen comics were written way back in 1986-87 and it didn't take long for rumours of a film adaptation to start circulating. Talk of the project first came about in the latter months of 1987, with producer Lawrence Gordon buying the rights very quickly.

From there, however, the project was thrown around from one studio to another, never settling anywhere long enough to really turn into a movie. Alan Moore, who wrote the comic, was originally asked to write a screenplay but declined, having little interest in film versions of his work.

In the years that followed, various writers were given a chance to turn the allegedly unfilmable comic into a successful movie script. Terry Gilliam, of Monty Python fame, was attached as a director at one point, but walked away when he saw the scope of the story and didn't believe it was possible to condense it into a film.

David Hayter, famous for voicing Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid games, also wrote a screenplay and was asked to direct the film, even getting Moore's blessing, but the project once again broke down. Another couple of directors then got involved and left before Zack Snyder finally signed on in 2006, bringing the project to life in 2009 after over two decades of development.