10 Unmade Comic Book Movies That Could Have Been Awesome

For better or worse, Zack Snyder's Watchmen is an incredibly faithful adaptation of the source material, and the director should be commended for even managing to get the 'unfilmable' movie made. During decades stuck in development hell, without a doubt the most intriguing name to be linked to the project was Terry Gilliam's.

Remember that this was the early 1990s and on paper, the ingredients for success were all there; Batman writer Sam Hamm's original script was rewritten by Gilliam and frequent collaborator Charles McKeown, the director's last three movies had been the critically-acclaimed Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and The Fisher King, while Silver was regarded as one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood with a proven track record of box office hits. It sounded like a match made in heaven.

Unfortunately, Gilliam dropped out of Watchmen after struggling with both condensing the epic graphic novel into a usable screenplay and the restrictive $25m budget, despite Silver chasing Arnold Schwarzenegger for Dr. Manhattan in an effort to attach an A-list star to the production.

Gilliam's take on the material would have been a visual treat, and fascinating to see unfold on the big screen. However, the radically-overhauled ending (the giant squid just can't seem to catch a break) would have divided fans and Zack Snyder has gone on record saying he made Watchmen to 'save it from the Terry Gilliams of this world', so make of that what you will.