It’s unbelievable that any superhero movie goes unproduced at all, given the insane amount of superhero movies released by Hollywood every year – around three per year in the MCU alone – but it does. It’s a bummer because many promising films have stagnated in development hell. If nothing else, we’ve compiled a list of 5 such superhero movies to keep the enthusiasm alive. Even in the midst of development hell, “Deadpool” showed us that there is hope. Hopefully, one of these films will reach out to us one day.
Kick-Ass 3
Some may ask why the “Kick-Ass” trilogy was never completed, especially since Mark Millar declared plans for a third installment when “Kick-Ass 2” (directed by Jeff Wadlow) was still in development. The simple reason is that the previous one didn’t make nearly as much money. “Kick-Ass 2” generated roughly $60 million at the box office (smaller than its predecessor) on a $28 million budget, and the critical response was unfavorable. That’s reportedly what’s holding Matthew Vaughn from approving the last installment of a potential trilogy.
X-Men: Fear the Beast
The draft for ‘X-Men: Fear The Beast’ was made public due to the Fox/Disney merger, which generated the prospects of it being produced exceedingly remote. Fear the Beast is a chilling horror film set in the late 1980s, similar to John Carpenter’s iconic ‘The Thing’. It would’ve culminated in a massive showdown with the Beast and resurrected Wolverine in one team.
The Incredible Hulk 2
Many people have asked why a sequel to one of Marvel’s most successful and known characters has yet to be produced. The 2008 picture earned enough money to be declared a hit, but the critical response was uneven. After Mark Ruffalo took over for Edward Norton, there were additional crossover cameos, culminating in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War. As much as we all desire another Hulk film, it appears that “a solo Hulk film will never happen.”
Hellboy III
For years, Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman tried to have their third Hellboy film done. The first two films were critically and popularly praised, with Perlman stealing the show and del Toro perfecting his on-screen heroics. They had a draft for a third installment too. But the studio refused to agree on a budget, therefore it was never made.
Spawn 2
The ‘Spawn‘ is a long-running comic series created by Todd McFarlane that started in 1992. It depicts former marine Al Simmons, who is brought back from the pits of Hell as a devastating pawn in the fight between Hell and Heaven. It sounds like it could be the basis for an epic film, but “Spawn” (directed by Mark A.Z. Dippe) was, to put it politely, disappointing. A sequel was never completed, despite Todd McFarlane’s adamant desire to make another Spawn film. In 2016, MacFarlane indicated that the script had been written and that it only needed to be edited. This implies that there is still a possibility for this film.
