Photo: Skydance Pictures
Few industries are such an unholy blend of capital and art as the film industry. It seems that these two halves are in constant conflict with one another. What is commercially viable may not be what a filmmaker wants to create. As a result, new and interesting movie projects come and go at a fast clip.
Some projects get thrown in the metaphorical trash before they are even given a chance. Some are not so lucky. Some spin in the rumor mill for years or even decades, never coming to fruition but constantly teasing audiences with the possibility of their existence. Check out the seven movie projects in progress we’re most interested in below.
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interesting projects
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7. Neil Blomkamp’s ’Alien’ spinoff/sequel
Years ago, District 9 director Neil Blomkamp teased a sequel he had written to Aliens. He intended to retcon what followed James Cameron’s film because audiences have been very split on the films that came after, especially David Fincher’s Alien3 and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Alien: Resurrection. However, since 2012, Ridley Scott has re-taken and held control of the franchise whose birth he presided over. So long as Scott treats the Alien universe as his own personal sandbox, we are unlikely to see Blomkamp’s sequel. But in this day and age, who knows.
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6. James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ sequel(s)
Following the Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the future of their releases was almost entirely recalibrated. Among the upcoming pictures was Cameron’s constantly-teased (but perennially pushed back) sequels to his box office-breaking Avatar. With Disney pushing the project forward, it seems more likely to happen, but it is hard to tell what to believe, because Cameron has teased them so much over the years.
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5. Quentin Tarantino’s ’Star Trek’ spinoff
Many of us are anxiously awaiting Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Another project he has dangled in the faces of his audience is a Star Trek film. What precisely it would entail is unclear, but it would be quite fascinating change for Tarantino. Though he has frequently borrowed from filmmakers who came before him, he has never written or directed a movie from a pre-existing intellectual property. With the future of the Chris Pine-led Star Trek series now unclear, perhaps Tarantino’s own project is more likely to become a reality.
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4. Rian Johnson, D.B. Weiss, and David Benioff’s ’Star Wars’ spinoff(s)
With Disney’s aforementioned upcoming film schedule, Rian Johnson’s previously-announced trilogy of Star Wars spinoff films were mysteriously absent, while the Game of Thrones’ showrunners’ own three-piece is moving forward as planned. What precisely that means is unclear. Lucasfilm seems to be continually in support of Johnson, in spite of vocal disdain from a small subsection of fans for his first Star Wars project The Last Jedi. On the other hand, the last season of Game of Thrones received a decent amount of ire from its own fans. It is important to remember that Disney has unceremoniously fired the directors of three of the five Star Wars films since their acquisition, so it would not be unprecedented for them to do it again.
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3. Peter Jackson’s ’The Adventures of Tintin’ sequel
Steven Spielberg’s 2011 film The Adventures of Tintin was one of his most exciting in a while. Spielberg clearly relished his ability to use digital filmmaking to create a world wholly from scratch. He would go on to experiment with this form—and its implications in the larger world—with Ready Player One. It was reported that the Lord of the Rings’ director Peter Jackson would helm the sequel starring Herge’s titular character. Whether it is still moving forward is unclear, though it seems decreasingly likely with each passing year.
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2. Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ remake
As far as we know, Steven Spielberg’s remake of the widely-beloved musical film West Side Story is moving forward as planned. However, with Disney’s 20th Century Fox acquisition, the project has changed hands. When Disney announced their upcoming lineup, West Side Story was pushed back a year. In addition, the powers that be at Disney have taken issue with the minutia of the film, such as whether the characters need to be smoking. At this stage in his life, Spielberg may not have any patience for being pestered by such issues and could reasonably abandon the project if working with Disney proves to be too much of a bother for him—after all, he co-founded their one-time main competitor, Dreamworks. Only time will tell.
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1. 'National Treasure 3'
Big-time Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer is in the process of reviving two of his biggest properties—in Top Gun and Bad Boys—but little has been said about a teased sequel to the beloved Nic Cage vehicles National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets. It is confounding. Disney’s live-action division does little else these days but remake its animated classics. Another family-friendly Nic Cage adventure movie through America’s fictional history seems like a no-brainer, even from a business standpoint.
