3. Indiana Jones And The City Of Gods
So here it is: the only shelved Indiana Jones movie on this list that was probably worth making into a fully-fledged feature film, and a project that was shot down by George Lucas on multiple occassions (to screenwriter Frank Darabont's frequent dismay), despite the fact that both Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford were said to have been pleased with it. Written between 2000 and 2003, City of Gods saw traces of the '90s Saucer Men script and lots of what would eventually become Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - aliens and all. But what's good about City of Gods is the way it handles the alien plot line - it's made nowhere near as blatant about the fact that there are aliens, and when we see them, it's not shoved in our faces the same way as it is in Kingdom. Having a more restrained approach to the alien plotline would have been wise, and far more in tune with the already established Indy films. So the film is set in the '50s, involves Russians, features Marion, and there are crystal skulls, too. What's missing - and you'll be glad to hear - is Mutt Williams (Indy and Marion still marry at the end). So why did we end up with the not quite as good David Koepp version of this story, then? The details aren't exactly clear - all we know is that George Lucas never fell in love with the script, presumably because there weren't enough shots of CGI aliens written into it. Meanwhile, Darabont has been vocal about his disappointment regarding City of Gods. "I think you're insane, George," he apparently told the director upon third draft refusal. "You can say things like that to George, and he doesn't even blink. He's one of the most stubborn men I know." Believable.