Ideally, the gestation period of a film, from conception to release, should be about two years or less. However, some movies take way too long to hit theaters. It’s what people in Hollywood like to call ‘development hell.’ Some projects get killed before being revived, while some are simply put on pause. Others just move at a snail’s pace because it’s better to be slow but sure.
While we are always glad to see certain movies hit the big screen after a long wait, in some cases, they would have been better off being left on the shelf. Here are movies that made up for their delays and those that made us wonder why those involved didn’t notice the obvious cracks despite sitting on their projects forever.
Worth It: Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is considered one of the greatest war movies of all time but making it was like being on an actual battlefield. George Lucas was initially hired to direct the movie but pulled out due to personal reasons. With Lucas out, Francis Ford Coppola took over a production that ended up giving him depression and straining his marriage.
Coppola even chronicled the behind-the-scenes difficulties he encountered while making Apocalypse Now in the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. Apparently, filming was initially set to take five months, beginning in 1976, but it ended up taking more than a year. Actor Marlon Brando also arrived on the set late, overweight, and unprepared. Sets were also destroyed by bad weather in the Philippines and, as if that’s not enough, Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack while filming. Luckily, the end product was worth it. When the movie was released in 1979, Apocalypse Now received eight Academy Awards and won one.
Not Worth It: The Godfather Part III
While on the subject of Francis Ford Coppola, for a long time, the director had refused to do the third film in The Godfather series. He clearly felt that the first two films told a complete story. However, after having a string of unsuccessful films in the ’80s, he finally succumbed to the pressure from Paramount Pictures and made The Godfather Part III.
The movie was released 16 years after the second film. Sadly, it’s now considered the weakest in the trilogy. Unlike the first two films, the third film failed to win any Academy Awards. Coppola has also stated that he was given a much smaller budget than he wanted, hence the underwhelming results.
Worth It: Bad Boys For Life
The third film in the Bad Boys Trilogy has finally been released. It’s been 17 years since the second movie hit theaters and many were skeptical about whether it was necessary for Will Smith and Martin Lawrence to team up again. Most of Smith’s movies in the 2010s were critical failures whereas Martin hadn’t appeared in a major motion picture for 8 years.
There had been talks about making the third film since 2008 but various obstacles arose. Smith wasn’t willing to commit yet and the budget just wasn’t enough. Smith and director Michael Bay were both asking for huge salaries. Luckily, Bay pulled out and was replaced by little known Belgian directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The rest is history. Bad Boys For Life has a score of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is higher than the two previous movies. The film also grossed a whopping $68 million during its opening weekend.
Not Worth It: Power Rangers
Lionsgate announced Power Rangers in 2014 but there was no major progress for a while. In 2015, it was pushed forward to summer 2016. That didn’t happen. A release date was then set for January 13, 2017, before the film was pushed again to March 24th.
Upon the movie’s release, no one was impressed. In comparison to the Marvel films that were ruling cinema, Power Rangers just didn’t measure up. It was intended to be the start of a major franchise but this plan was discarded due to underperformance.
Worth It: Mad Max: Fury Road
Mad Max: Fury Road was in development hell for more than 20 years. Pre-production started in 1997 before stalling. Plans were then made to shoot the film in 2001 but they stalled again due to the September 11 attacks. Director Geroge Miller even considered making the movie as an animated film but changed his mind.
In 2010, Hardy was cast as Max and the following year the production process finally began. The film finally got released in 2015, thirty years after the third film. It went on to win numerous Academy Awards. Hopefully, the next sequel won’t take as long to come out.
Not Worth It: The Dark Tower
Movies adapted from Stephen King’s novels tend to be inconsistent but The Dark Tower proved to be especially disappointing, averaging a mere 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The fact that it had a strong cast that included Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey makes it even sadder.
Talks to adapt the Stephen King series began as early as 2007. All the top five studios were attached to the project at some point before backing out. Perhaps they sensed the looming disaster? The film was finally released in 2017. In an interview with Vulture, King explained why he felt the film didn’t work. He said that the producers were making a two-hour movie from 3000-pages worth of material. He also criticized the decision to make the movie PG-13, as his books are for mature audiences.
Worth It: The Cabin In The Woods
A modern masterpiece, The Cabin In The Woods was set to be released on February 5, 2010, but was delayed to January 14, 2011, so that it could be converted to 3D. However, MGM later put out an announcement stating that the movie would be shelved for the time being due to financial problems.
After the distribution rights were picked up by Lionsgate, the film ended up being released in 2012. The wait was truly worth it. The Cabin In The Woods redefined the horror-comedy genre, with critics praising the puzzling nature of the film and the perfect blend of laughs and scares.
Not Worth It: Warcraft
Adapting a popular video game like World Of Warcraft into a motion picture is never easy. The Warcraft movie was first announced in 2006 and scheduled for a 2009 release but would only hit theaters ten years later. The initial script was dropped because Blizzard (the makers of the game) felt it echoed The Lord Of The Rings too much. Perhaps they should have stuck with it?
Like the game, Warcraft had stunning visuals but the plot was simply incoherent for non-fans. There were also too many major characters competing for limited screentime. However, a few weeks after its release, the film went on to be the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time.
Worth It: Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer
Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer is definitely not for the faint-hearted. It’s as gruesome as horror movies can get. Perhaps too gruesome. The movie chronicles the life of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. It was shot in 1985 on a budget of $100K but struggled to find a distributor.
It wasn’t until 1990 that the film got a theatrical run. However, Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer was banned in numerous countries and this denied it the chance to make any real money globally. Unlike distribution companies, American audiences warmed up to the film and it became a cult classic.
Not Worth It: Gemini Man
22 years is how long it took for Gemini Man to go from conception to release. The idea was first tabled in 1997 and several popular directors were all linked to the film at various points. Numerous stars, including Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson, were also rumored to be the leading men.
Finally, there was hope in 2016 when Skydance Media acquired the rights to the script. In 2017, Ang Lee signed on as director and Will Smith signed on as the lead actor. However, Gemini Man was heavily lambasted by critics when it was released in late 2019. Smith’s performance was praised and so were the visual effects but the plot just didn’t make plenty of sense.
