20 Things You Didn't Know About Waterworld
9. Universal Wanted To Hire Robert Zemeckis Or Lawrence Kasdan To Direct
Though Universal ultimately agreed to hire Kevin Reynolds to direct the film upon Kevin Costner's recommendation, they originally had other filmmakers in mind.
Their first two choices were Robert Zemeckis - who was fresh off a hot streak of hit movies including the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Death Becomes Her, and Forrest Gump - and Lawrence Kasdan, who directed Costner in the critical and commercial dud Wyatt Earp the year prior.
With neither Zemeckis nor Kasdan willing to commit to the project, Universal went with Reynolds. Though Kasdan would've been a terrible pick, it's at least easy to appreciate the technical finesse Zemeckis would've brought to the table.