Summary

• Many movie adaptations of classic novels are stuck in development hell or have been canceled altogether.
• Budgetary problems and competing movie ideas contributed to the cancellation of these adaptations.
• Despite these challenges, fans and filmmakers still hope that some of these movies will eventually be realized.

Many movie adaptations of classic novels are currently languishing in development hell or have been canceled altogether. Having been praised by scholars for decades, even centuries, adaptations of classic literature are typically met with plenty of attention from the media and the public. Brilliant directors, producers, and writers, including Guillermo del Toro and John Legend, have proposed refreshing takes on these literary works, but their ideas don't seem to be moving forward.

Producers might not feel the need to rush an adaptation since most of the source material is in the public domain, and they can adapt it any time they want. However, budgetary problems and more movie ideas coming in will result in such movies officially being canceled. Yet fans of classic literature and certain filmmakers still hope that studios will demonstrate their continued interest in some of these ideas for classic novel movie adaptations.

9 Guillermo del Toro's At The Mountain Of Madness

Del Toro's Mountains of Madness adaptation landed at multiple studios before being canceled.

Guillermo del Toro has been trying to adapt H.P. Lovecraft’s At The Mountains of Madness since 2006, when he and Matthew Robbins completed their initial screenplay. The sci-fi horror novella follows a doomed expedition to Antarctica in September 1930. Del Toro met his first obstacle when Warner Bros. declined to finance the movie.

Del Toro's Mountains of Madness was seemingly revived when Tom Cruise and James Cameron became attached to it in 2010, but Universal refused to produce an R-rated movie, according to del Toro’s vision. He later agreed to make a PG-13 version for Legendary Pictures, but the movie was still canceled. Del Toro covered some other Lovecraft stories in his anthology series Cabinet of Curiosities. He also shared some test footage of his Mountains of Madness via his Instagram, but a feature-length movie now seems unlikely.

8 George Cowan's The Regulators

Bohemia Group is planning one of many Stephen King adaptations in Hollywood.

It was announced in 2022 (via Deadline) that Bohemia Group acquired the rights to Stephen King’s 1966 novel The Regulators. King published the book, characterized as a “Western horror-thriller,” under the pen name Richard Bachman. This pseudonym was exposed in 1984. Bohemia Group hired George Cowan to write the script for a movie adaptation. The company’s CEO Susan Ferris had this to say about the project: “The novel’s themes and characters resonate so powerfully, and we are looking forward to making an incredible film.” However, no additional news about the Regulators movie has surfaced since its announcement.

7 Disney's Penelope (The Princess And The Pea)

Penelope would not be the first Disney animated movie canceled.

Disney is reportedly developing a new animated musical based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea" under the title Penelope (via ended development on Gigantic, an adaptation of "Jack and the Beanstalk." Therefore, it is not guaranteed that Penelope will ever be completed.

6 Denis Villeneuve's Rendezvous With Rama

Villeneuve is planning another classic sci-fi novel adaptation after Dune.

Following working on Frank Herbert's Dune, Denis Villeneuve plans to direct an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama. This was announced (via Dune: Part 3, so Rendezvous with Rama may have to wait.

5 Luca Guadagnino's Lord Of The Flies

A new director plans to further explore Lord of the Flies' elements of horror.

A remake of Lord of the Flies is also on its way, with the last movie adaption of William Golding’s novel coming out in 1990. Director Luca Guadagnino is reportedly leaning more into the novel’s aspects of psychological horror. The remake was first announced (via Variety) in 2019, but Guadagnino spoke about the project in September 2023. While there is no confirmed cast yet, the recent update from the director on the script’s progress is reassuring, indicating that the project is moving forward.

4 Scott Derrickson's Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost had two different directors before it was canceled.

Director Scott Derrickson’s movie adaptation of John Milton’s Paradise Lost was announced in 2006. Milton’s poetic retelling of Adam and Eve's fall is famous for its nuanced depiction of the devil, which Derrickson was eager to adapt: "You have to respect that Milton created the first anti-hero with that poem," said Derrickson (via MTV), "and certainly this was preserved in the script."

Yet Derrickson never said anything else about the project. According to Collider, Legendary Pictures hired Alex Proyas to take over from Derrickson as Paradise Lost's director in 2010, and Bradley Cooper was attached to the lead role for some time. The project was then shut down due to budget issues before being officially canceled.

3 Guillermo del Toro's The Count Of Monte Cristo

Del Toro wanted to remake Alexandre Dumas' classic novel.

Del Toro is constantly coming up with dazzlingly macabre movie ideas, too many of which never get off the ground. Another of del Toro’s canceled movies is an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, under the title The Left Hand of Darkness. According to Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions by del Toro and Marc Scott Zicree, del Toro started writing the script in 1994. The story was set in Mexico and described as a “steampunk gothic western.” However, this idea never came to fruition.

2 John Fusco's The Phantom Of The Opera

John Legend is attached to a modern-day The Phantom of the Opera movie.

Another movie that has had no news since its announcement is EGOT winner John Legend’s adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s novel The Phantom of the Opera. Universal bought the tentative script, written by John Fusco, in 2021. Legend was announced as a producer. The Phantom remake will be set in present-day New Orleans and will feature a new soundtrack, different from the Broadway musical. Mike Fleming Jr. described (via Deadline) the movie’s premise as “the story of a H.E.R.-like neo-Soul singer ingenue who is mentored by a mysterious man, as mysterious mishaps occur in a famed club trying to remain vibrant.”

1 Will Dunn's The Halloween Tree

Will Dunn is working on another Ray Bradbury adaptation.

The Halloween Tree is a fantasy novel by Ray Bradbury about a group of boys who learn about the origins of Halloween during a reality-bending journey to save their friend from supernatural forces. In 2020, Warner Bros. tapped Will Dunn to write the script for an adaptation of The Halloween Tree (via Deadline), with no additional news. This announcement came after the release of the poorly reviewed 2018 adaptation of Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. This suggests that Warner Bros. did not care about the previous movie’s failure, but executives may still choose to prioritize other projects.

Source: Instagram, Deadline, DisneyInsider, Variety, MTV, Collider