10. Wonder Woman (????)
Okay, I'll start with this one as you're allowed to not know about it, but back in 2005, Joss Whedon was approached to both write and direct Warner Bros. and DC's then (and still) forthcoming Wonder Woman film. They were obviously looking to regain their cinematic crown from Marvel, whose Spider-Man and X-Men films were doing rather well. (Incidentally the X-Men is another film Whedon lent his pen to, but isn't included in this list due to the rather paltry amount of his work that was kept, but which does at least it get the biggest laugh.) After all, DC owned 20th Century comic book adaptations thanks to their nine films from only two franchises, all within a twenty year period (yes I'm including Supergirl, but considering none of Marvel's pre-Blade offerings compete with even Quest for Peace, I think I'm allowed). The 21st Century didn't get off to a good start though; Superman Returns and Green Lantern might have been better than Halle Berry's Catwoman but were still classed as disappointments, and Christopher Nolan can't be expected to create an entire renaissance all on his own. As you've probably noticed, DC's attempts to rival Marvel are making rather a slow progress. Whedon remained attached to the project for two years, delivering outlines and pitches that neither DC or Warner Bros. were happy with. Hard to believe considering the success he has had since, but the disagreements came from the two different directions that storyteller and studio bosses wanted to take the film. It's probably fair to say that plans keep being postponed rather than cancelled altogether though, as you can't keep a good superhero down for long. Unlike the rather ironically titled Goners, Wonder Woman is a Whedon script that still has a spark of life left in it. Man of Steel is set to be this summer's big blockbuster, and nigh on everyone is saying how it will pave the way for an Avengers style Justice League movie. Considering commissioned work is owned by the studios rather than the writers, Whedon's work should still be sitting in Warner Bros. filing cabinet somewhere, and the idea of any future Wonder Woman film being based upon the foundations laid down by Whedon some eight years ago isn't an implausible one.
Whedon hallmark: The only details to be released (so far) were that Whedon's plan was to have an origin story that featured Steve Trevor and Themyscira, so
the strong female lead aside, it's hard to say.