10 Insane Movies That Were Almost Made

The movies we see in cinemas and on streaming services are just a fraction of the projects that swirl around within the film industry. For every couple of flicks that actually see the light of day, there are many more that stumble during pre-production, have prolonged scripting issues, or even fail to be greenlit in the first place.

After all, making movies is difficult. With a lot of disparate elements to organise and pull together, it's not really surprising that a lot fall apart during the process.

Sometimes, it's simply the premise itself that's the problem. A filmmaker might have a concept that sounds really cool and unique, but in reality, it could be too expensive to produce, too difficult to execute, or just too weird for any studio to want to give it a go.

Stories of these crazier failed projects are aplenty, with filmmakers like James Cameron, J.J. Abrams and Alfred Hitchcock all having worked on insane, bonkers movies that never came to fruition. Looking back now, it's a shame that none of these were made, because at the very least, they would've been interesting to watch.

The Movie: A project we only recently heard about, legendary Hollywood duo James Cameron and Tom Cruise were, at one point, considering shooting a big-budget movie together.

But as you'd expect from two masters of spectacle, this wouldn't have been your average blockbuster. Far from it. In reality, the plan was to jet off into space and shoot the entire thing up there. Cameron told Empire that he had a contract in 2000 to go to the International Space Station and shoot a 3D documentary. So, he figured why not make a proper movie while he was up there?

He didn't disclose any story ideas, but given his penchant for delivering stunning, awe-inspiring visuals, and Cruise's commitment to ensuring his movies look and feel as realistic as possible, this would have been quite an experience.

Why It Wasn't Made: Again, Cameron didn't mention why this never came to be, but from his comments, it's clear that this venture was simply an idea, and nothing more.

“I actually talked to [Tom Cruise] about doing a space film in space... I said, ‘Tom, you and I, we’ll get two seats on the Soyuz, but somebody’s gotta train us as engineers.’ Tom said, ‘No problem, I’ll train as an engineer.’ We had some ideas for the story, but it was still conceptual.”

With Cameron busy making endless Avatar movies, it remains to be seen if he'll ever get the chance to revisit this one.