J. J. Abrams's unrealized projects

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Abrams at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con

The following is a list of unproduced J. J. Abrams projects in roughly chronological order. During a career that has spanned over 30 years, J. J. Abrams has worked on projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction.

1980s[]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (sequel)[]

Main article: Who Framed Roger Rabbit § Proposed sequel

2000s[]

Superman: Flyby[]

In July 2002, Abrams wrote a script for a possible fifth Superman film entitled Superman: Flyby.[1] Brett Ratner and McG entered into talks to direct,[2] although Abrams tried to get the chance to direct his own script.[3] However, the project was finally cancelled in 2004, due to Superman Returns.

Early attempt of The Dark Tower[]

Main article: The Dark Tower (2017 film) § J. J. Abrams (2007–2009)

Mystery on Fifth Avenue[]

In 2008, it was reported that Abrams purchased the rights to a New York Times article Mystery on Fifth Avenue about the renovation of an 8.5 million dollar co-op, a division of property originally owned by E. F. Hutton & Co. and Marjorie Merriweather Post, for six figures and was developing a film titled Mystery on Fifth Avenue, with Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Productions,[4] and comedy writers Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky to write the adaptation. According to the article, a wealthy couple Steven B. Klinsky and Maureen Sherry purchased the apartment in 2003 and live there with their four children. Soon after purchasing the apartment, they hired young architectural designer Eric Clough, who devised an elaborately clever "scavenger hunt" built into the apartment that involved dozens of historical figures, a fictional book and a soundtrack, woven throughout the apartment in puzzles, riddles, secret panels, compartments, and hidden codes, without the couple's knowledge. The family didn't discover the embedded mystery until months after moving into the apartment.[5][6] After Abrams purchased the article, Clough left him an encrypted message in the wall tiles of a Christian Louboutin shoe store he designed in West Hollywood.[7]

Hot for Teacher film[]

On April 24, 2008, it was reported that Abrams and Bad Robot Productions were producing Jay Dyer's script Hot for Teacher.[8]

Untitled Aline Brosh-McKenna/Simon Kinberg film[]

On October 13, 2009, it was reported that Abrams and Bad Robot Productions were producing a film from writers Aline Brosh McKenna and Simon Kinberg.[9] Since then, there have been no further developments.

Samurai Jack (film)[]

In November 2009, it was reported that Abrams and Bad Robot Productions were producing, along with Cartoon Network Movies, Warner Bros., Frederator Films, and Paramount Pictures, a film adaptation of Samurai Jack.[10] However, in June 2012, series creator Genndy Tartakovsky stated that the production of the film was scrapped after Abrams' departure from the project to direct Star Trek.[11] For this and other reasons, Tartakovsky decided to make a new season instead of a feature film.

500 Rads film[]

On 4 November 2009, it was reported that Abrams and Bad Robot Productions would produce 500 Rads, aka an "Absorbed Radiation Dose," from a Jeff Pinkner script.[12] Since then, there have been no further developments.

Micronauts (film)[]

On November 6, 2009, it was reported that Abrams and Bad Robot Productions would produce a film based on the Micronauts toy line.[13] On October 23, 2015, Tom Wheeler submitted a Micronauts draft to Paramount and Bad Robot.[14] This iteration of the project is unrelated to the Hasbro Cinematic Universe.[15]

Let the Great World Spin film[]

On December 11, 2009, it was reported that Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and Paramount Pictures were producing the film adaptation of Colum McCann's novel Let the Great World Spin.[16] Since then, there have been no further developments.

2010s[]

Boilerplate film[]

In July 2010, Abrams was producing the Boilerplate film.[17]

7 Minutes to Heaven film[]

On August 10, 2010, Abrams was producing Jake Bender's 7 Minutes to Heaven film.[18]

Untitled Brad Parker/Michael Gilio film[]

In January 2012, Abrams and Matt Reeves were producing Michael Gilio's action film with Brad Parker on board to direct for Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot.[19]

Untitled Josh Campbell/Matt Stuecken film[]

In January 2012, Abrams will produce the sci-fi thriller with Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken for Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot.[20]

Wunderkind film[]

On June 11, 2012, Abrams was producing Patrick Aison's sci-fi, action, thriller film Wunderkind, for Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot.[21]

Collider film[]

On July 23, 2012, Abrams was producing Mark Protosevich's sci-fi film Collider, with Edgar Wright directing for Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot.[22]

Earthquake film[]

On July 27, 2012, Abrams was producing Dustin Lance Black's disaster film Earthquake, for Universal Pictures and Bad Robot.[23]

Electropolis series[]

On October 11, 2012, Abrams, Bad Robot, Ken Olin, and Warner Bros Television were producing the family drama Electropolis, for The CW.[24]

Portal and Half-Life (films)[]

Abrams announced at the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit that Bad Robot Productions had made a deal with Valve to produce a film based on either the video game Portal or Half-Life.[25] No new announcements were made since.

One Last Thing Before I Go film[]

On April 23, 2013, Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot partners Abrams and Bryan Burk were producing the film adaptation of Jonathan Tropper‘s book One Last Thing Before I Go, with Mike Nichols as director and Tropper writing the script.[26] There have been no further developments since Nichols’ death in 2014.

Cycle Of Lies: The Fall Of Lance Armstrong[]

In 2013, Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot partners JJ Abrams and Bryan Burk were producing a film based on Juliet Macur‘s book Cycle Of Lies: The Fall Of Lance Armstrong[27] with Bradley Cooper in talks to star as Armstrong,[28] and D.V. DeVincentis writing the script.[29] There have been no further developments since then, especially after The Program was released.

The Stops Along the Way series[]

In June 2013, Abrams was producing the series The Stops Along the Way from an abandoned Rod Serling script for Warner Bros Television.[30] There have been no developments since.

Alias, Lost, and Felicity (films)[]

In January 2014, during the promotion of the TV series Believe, Abrams announced he was writing film adaptations of Alias, Lost and Felicity.[31] No film based on these shows were made.

Untitled Chris Alender/Justin Doble film[]

On 9 December 2014, Abrams and Michael De Luca were producing Chris Alender's sci-fi film with Alender directing and co-writing the script with Justin Doble, as a coproduction between Columbia Pictures and Bad Robot.[32]

Thomas Edison biopic[]

On 15 February 2015, Abrams was set to produce a biopic about Thomas Edison through Bad Robot, with no word about who will write or direct film.[33]

Killers of the Flower Moon film[]

On March 10, 2016, Abrams was set to direct the film adaptation of David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon.[34] In 2021, the book was adapted into a film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, and Jesse Plemons.[35]

Dream Jumper film[]

On April 1, 2016, Abrams was planning on producing the film adaptation of Greg Grunberg's graphic novel Dream Jumper for Paramount Pictures. It is unknown if the project will be live-action or animated and who will write the script.[36]

Kolma film[]

On April 18, 2016, Abrams was producing Marielle Heller’s film Kolma, a remake of the Israeli film All I’ve Got, with Daisy Ridley in talks to star for Paramount.[37]

Beta film[]

On 23 June 2016, Abrams was set to produce Ed Solomon’s script Beta, which is said to be combine Solomon’s comedy with Inception and The Matrix, for Paramount.[38]

The Flamingo Affair film[]

In 29 June 2016, Abrams was planning on directing and producing the animated film The Flamingo Affair from writer Pamela Pettler for Paramount Animation.[39]

The Nix series[]

In September 2016, Abrams was planning on directing and producing the series The Nix from author Nathan Hill, with Meryl Streep starring and producing.[40]

Glare series[]

On 9 December 2016, Abrams was producing the Javier Gullón sci-fi TV series Glare through Bad Robot for HBO.[41] There have been no developments since.

Untitled RuPaul bio-series[]

In March 2017, Abrams was producing a TV series based on RuPaul’s childhood, with RuPaul co-producing and Gary Lennon writing the Hulu series.[42]

The Market TV series[]

On April 27, 2017, Abrams and Jesse Eisenberg were producing the comedy The Market with Eisenberg starring, writing and directing the series.[43]

Quentin Tarantino's R-rated Star Trek film[]

It was announced in December 2017 that Quentin Tarantino had pitched an idea to Paramount Pictures for a new Star Trek film.[44] A writers room, consisting of Mark L. Smith, Lindsey Beer, Megan Amram and Drew Pearce, was assembled to flesh out the concept. The plan would be for Tarantino to direct the film, with J. J. Abrams onboard to produce.[45] Smith later became the frontrunner to write the screenplay later that month.[46][47]

In May 2019, Tarantino confirmed that his Trek film was still in development, saying "It's a very big possibility. I haven't been dealing with those guys for a while cause I've been making my movie. But we've talked about a story and a script. The script has been written and when I emerge my head like Punxsutawney Phil, post-Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, we'll pick up talking about it again."[48] Tarantino discussed the project in June 2019, stating that Smith had turned in his script, and Tarantino would soon be adding in his notes. He asserted his intention for the film to be rated R.[49]

In December 2019, it was reported that Tarantino had left the project, looking to make a smaller budget film.[50][51] In January 2020, Tarantino stated the film "might" be made, but he would not direct it.[52]

The Heavy film[]

On May 3, 2018, Abrams was producing Julius Avery’s The Heavy with Daniel Casey writing the script for Paramount.[53]

Piece of Mind film[]

On May 4, 2018, Abrams was producing Paramount’s adaptation of Michelle Adelman’s Piece of Mind with Ryan Knighton writing the script and Daisy Ridley set to play Lucy.[54]

Aphoria film[]

On 4 June 2018, Abrams was set to produce the sci-fi film Aphoria, with Jared Moshe writing and directing the film.[55]

Reincarnation Type film[]

On July 13, 2018, Abrams was producing Robert Specland’s thriller Reincarnation Type and collaborate with Bristol Automotive.[56]

A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea film[]

On October 29, 2018, Abrams and Steven Spielberg were co-producing the film adaptation of Melissa Fleming‘s A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea about Doaa Al Zamel‘s escape from the Syrian Civil War, with Lena Dunham writing the script.[57]

Untitled Ed Hemming Thriller[]

On November 8, 2018, Abrams was producing Ed Hemming’s untitled thriller.[58]

They Both Die at the End TV series[]

On February 13, 2019, Bad Robot was producing the adaptation of Adam Silvera's book They Both Die at the End with Chris Kelly creating the series with Abrams for HBO.[59]

References[]

  1. ^ "Cashiers du Cinemart Issue 15:". ImpossibleFunky. February 16, 2008. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008.
  2. ^ Stax (September 17, 2002). "Ratner Talks Superman". IGN.
  3. ^ McNary, Dave; Fleming, Michael (August 12, 2004). "Par girding up for 'War'". Variety.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Seigel, Tatiana (June 17, 2008). "Paramount, Abrams keep house". Variety. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
  5. ^ Reagan, Gillian. "J.J. Abrams to Produce NYT's Fifth Avenue Mystery". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  6. ^ Green, Penelope (June 12, 2008). "Mystery on Fifth Avenue". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Schwartz, John (December 6, 2010). "Monumentally Mystifying: Power of Secrets Inspires Public Art". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Kit, Borys (April 24, 2008). "J.J. Abrams in for 'Teacher'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  9. ^ Corbin, David (October 13, 2009). "Paramount Purchases New Project for J.J. Abrams Bad Robot". Collider. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  10. ^ "J.J. Abrams Producing Samurai Jack: The Movie - Film Junk". FilmJunk.
  11. ^ "A Preview of Sony Animation's Hotel Transylvania". ComingSoon. June 26, 2012.
  12. ^ Rowles, Dustin (November 4, 2009). "Pajiba Exclusive: J.J. Abrams Secretely [sic] Working on 500 Rads". Pajiba.com. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  13. ^ Schuker, Lauren A. E. (November 6, 2009). "The Cry Goes Out in Hollywood: 'Get Me Mr. Potato Head's Agent!'". WSJ.
  14. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 23, 2015). "Tom Wheeler Set To Script Live-Action 'Dora The Explorer' & 'Micronauts' At Paramount". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  15. ^ McNary, Dave (November 20, 2015). "Paramount Moves Forward on Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Micronauts". Variety. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016.
  16. ^ Rich, Motoko (December 11, 2009). "J.J. Abrams Wants to 'Let the Great World Spin'". New York Times Blog. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  17. ^ "J.J. Abrams to produce 'Boilerplate'". Variety. July 29, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  18. ^ "J.J. Abrams and LOST Director Jack Bender Spend 7 MINUTES IN HEAVEN". Collider. August 10, 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  19. ^ Sneider, Jeff (January 10, 2012). "Paramount, Bad Robot developing action pic". Variety. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  20. ^ Sneider, Jeff (May 23, 2012). "Paramount buys Campbell/Stuecken spec". Variety. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  21. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 11, 2012). "Paramount Acquires Spec 'Wunderkind' For Bad Robot". Deadline. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  22. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 23, 2012). "Edgar Wright To Direct Paramount's 'Collider,' Mark Protosevich To Write". Deadline. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  23. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 27, 2012). "Universal, JJ Abrams Set 'Milk' Scribe Dustin Lance Black For 'Earthquake'". Deadline. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  24. ^ Marechal, AJ (October 11, 2012). "Bad Robot fires up 'Electropolis' at CW". Variety. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  25. ^ Graser, Marc (February 6, 2013). "J.J. Abrams will develop 'Half-Life,' 'Portal' games into films". Variety. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  26. ^ Tatiana Siegel, Borys Kit (April 23, 2013). "Mike Nichols in Talks to Direct 'One Last Thing Before I Go'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  27. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 18, 2013). "Paramount, JJ Abrams' Bad Robot Target Lance Armstrong Cheat Scandal For Pic". Deadline. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  28. ^ The Deadline Team (January 27, 2013). "Bradley Cooper In Talks With J.J. Abrams To Play Lance Armstrong: Report". Deadline. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  29. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 12, 2013). "D.V. DeVincentis To Script Paramount's Lance Armstrong Film". Deadline. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  30. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (June 5, 2016). "J.J. Abrams to Develop Rod Serling Screenplay". Variety. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  31. ^ "Felicity Movie? Yes, Please!". E! Online.
  32. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 9, 2014). "Sony Pictures Acquiring J.J. Abrams-Produced Secret Sci-Fi Film From First-Time Helmer Chris Alender". Deadline. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  33. ^ Sneider, Jeff (February 15, 2015). "J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Developing Thomas Edison Movie at Paramount (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  34. ^ Sneider, Jeff (March 10, 2016). "Leonardo DiCaprio, JJ Abrams Frontrunners for 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Book (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  35. ^ Masters, Kim (May 29, 2020). "Behind Scorsese's 'Killers' Apple Deal: $200M+ Budget, "Low-Risk" for Paramount". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  36. ^ Kit, Borys (April 1, 2016). "J.J. Abrams to Produce Adaptation of Greg Grunberg's Graphic Novel, 'Dream Jumper' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  37. ^ "Daisy Ridley Reteaming With J.J. Abrams For 'Kolma'". Deadline Hollywood. April 18, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  38. ^ Lyons, Josh (June 23, 2016). "J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot Will Take on "Beta" From "Now You See Me" Scribe Ed Solomon (Exclusive)". The Tracking Board. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  39. ^ Lyons, Josh (June 29, 2016). "J.J. Abrams Spreads his Wings with Animated Comedy "The Flamingo Affair" at Paramount (Exclusive)". The Tracking Board. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  40. ^ "Meryl Streep, J.J. Abrams Team for TV Adaptation of 'The Nix'". Variety. September 6, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  41. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (December 9, 2016). "HBO Developing Space Drama From J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot & Writer Javier Gullón". Deadline. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  42. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 20, 2017). "Bad Robot To Produce Period Dramedy Series Based On RuPaul's Life". Deadline. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  43. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 27, 2017). "Jesse Eisenberg To Star In, Write & Direct Comedy TV Series In Works At Bad Robot". Deadline. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  44. ^ Quentin Tarantino And JJ Abrams Team On Star Trek Pitch
  45. ^ Quentin Tarantino Hatches Star Trek Movie Idea; Paramount, JJ Abrams To Assemble Writers Room
  46. ^ Quentin Tarantino's Star Trek Will Be R-Rated: The Revenant's Mark L. Smith Frontrunner Scribe
  47. ^ Quentin Tarantino's Star Trek Finds Writer in The Revenant Scribe
  48. ^ Exclusive: Quentin Tarantino Tells Us How and Why He Created The Hateful Eight Miniseries for Netflix
  49. ^ Quentin Tarantino Confirms Star Trek Script Is Written And Waiting For His Notes & That It'll Definitely Be Rated R
  50. ^ Quentin Tarantino Is Probably Not Making a Star Trek Movie Anymore
  51. ^ Tarantino’s ‘Star Trek’ No Longer Happening?
  52. ^ Sharf, Zack (January 14, 2020). "Quentin Tarantino Hints at 'Star Trek' Exit: 'I Don't Think I'm Going to Direct It'". IndieWire. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  53. ^ Kit, Borys (May 3, 2018). "J.J. Abrams, Paramount Plot Superhero Thriller From 'Overlord' Director (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  54. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; N'Duka, Amanda (May 4, 2018). "Ryan Knighton Adapting 'Piece Of Mind' For Daisy Ridley At Paramount & Bad Robot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  55. ^ Kit, Borys (June 4, 2018). "Paramount, Bad Robot Team for Sci-Fi Thriller 'Aporia' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  56. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 13, 2018). "Robert Specland To Pen 'Reincarnation Type' For Bad Robot & Bristol Automotive". Deadline. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  57. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (October 29, 2018). "Lena Dunham Set To Pen Syrian Refugee Survival Tale For Spielberg, Abrams & Paramount". Deadline. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  58. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (November 8, 2018). "Bad Robot Options Thriller Pitch From Ed Hemming, Writer On 'The Crown'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  59. ^ White, Peter (February 13, 2019). "J.J. Abrams & 'The Other Two's Chris Kelly Developing Half-Hour 'They Both Die At The End' At HBO". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
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