10 Promising Video Game Movies That ALMOST Happened
7. Monkey Island
The Secret Of Monkey Island released in 1990 by Lucasarts and won critical acclaim due to the witty dialogue, whimsical world-building and head-scratching puzzles - it's the most revered example of the point-and-click Adventure genre and for good reason.
In 2000, murmurs emerged that Steven Speilberg was producing an animated adaptation. Pre-production had advanced as far as concept art and a finished script by writer Ted Elliot.
What Happened?
According to Lucasarts employee Dominic Armato, the project was spearheaded by a department that was sifting through the company archives to develop older family-friendly properties into full-fledged movies. When that department got the axe due to leadership change - so did this promising film.
Why Was It Promising?
The Monkey Island games are booming with appealing personality and humour - an appealing cinematic adaptation seems like an easy slam dunk.
Interestingly enough, writer Elliot would go on to co-write the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies, some sources say, he used a heavy dose of the Monkey Island script for the first two entries.
With Speilberg himself being a massive fan of the property and Elliot a connoisseur for all things pirate - this could've been a great concoction.