10 Movies You Won't Believe They Tried To Remake
9. Taxi Driver
Though some might argue that Todd Phillips' Joker is basically a loose remake of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, an honest-to-god straight remake has thankfully been seen as sacrilege by most everyone.
But back in 2010, reports emerged that Lars von Trier was working with Scorsese and original star Robert De Niro on an experimental remake.
This new take on Taxi Driver would adopt the format of von Trier's acclaimed documentary The Five Obstructions, where he challenged his filmmaker mentor Jørgen Leth to remake his own short film, The Perfect Human, five times with von Trier imposing specific restrictions each time.
It's an undeniably more intriguing route than a straight remake, though by 2014 Taxi Driver writer Paul Schrader confirmed that it wasn't going to happen, rubbishing the quasi-remake as a "stupid idea."
Schrader elaborated that he and Scorsese have fought to keep Taxi Driver a one-off without spin-offs, sequels, or remakes over the decades, and so with that in mind it seems incredibly unlikely we'll ever see their masterpiece retold.