8 REAL Failed Movie Pitches Just Revealed

5. The Stealth Se7en Prequel

Seven John Doe Kevin Spacey
New Line Cinema

Believe it or not, this isn't the first we've heard of a failed Se7en spin-off. I say 'failed' in the sense that the only other one that went ahead was Solace, an unofficial sequel to David Fincher's 1995 thriller that featured Anthony Hopkins and Colin Farrell in the leading roles. Now, though, we know of at least one other Se7en project that never get off the ground, this time from Shannon & Swift, the writers behind 2003's Freddy Vs. Jason and the 2009 Friday the 13th remake.

According to the duo, theirs would've been a stealth prequel to the original Se7en, with the huge shock ending being that we were watching John Doe all along.

In their own words, "it was how John Doe became John Doe", with the conceit being that the audience wouldn't know it was him until the final scene, which would've been the character going shopping before entering the apartment where the first victim would be tied up.

That's a bombshell of a climax no matter how you look at it, but the project was just never meant to be, with Shannon & Swift admitting that it was "probably a bad idea" to even try following Fincher's classic.

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Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.