2 Hours of CANCELED Marvel and DC Superhero Movies

In this video, Owen explains the history of Marvel and DC's biggest unmade films (including Superman Flyby, Justice League Mortal, Darren Aronofsky's Batman and The Amazing Spider-Man 3), the behind-the-scenes story of their development and what caused their cancellations.
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▶ Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
2:01 - Batman vs Superman (2004)
16:14 - Wonder Woman: TV Series (2011)
27:11 - The Amazing Spider-Man 3 (2014)
50:40 - Batman: Unchained (1998)
1:00:40 - Justice League: Mortal (2008)
1:15:57 - Will Beall's Justice League (2011)
1:24:32 - Terry Gilliam's Watchmen (1994)
1:36:50 - Superman: Flyby (2002)
1:46:32 - Batman: Year One (2000)
1:54:52 - Outro
▶ Music Used:
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‘Bored’ by ‘Lukrembo’
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#Marvel #DC #ComicBooks

[@OwenLikesComics]

▶ If you enjoyed this video, consider supporting Owen Likes Comics on Patreon: www.patreon.com/owenlikescomics

[@bartoszdulas1703]

I said it once, I'll say 9000 times... Justice League Mortal deserves a ressurection in any form... motion comic animation, animated movie, comic book, a novelization, whatever. It sound so interesting that it still hurts that we never saw it.

[@Bale4Bond]

Relase the Whatever-cut!

[@Akkbar21]

I’d totally see a Infinite Crisis movie. I read that when I got back into comics around 2015 and enjoyed it.

[@au6769]

Just with no Armie Hammer😅

[@Draliseth]

I got really excited when watching the end credits of Shazam and noticing that two of the adult versions of the kids were Flash and Superman from that cast. It was kinda cathartic to see them get to finally be on screen in a DC film. It would be really nice to see a book based on storyboards.

[@ianbrennan9635]

I could see a graphic novel of this being made.

[@SpoonDude]

Cancelled movies are one of my favorite topics- the “what if” is always fascinating to imagine, and hearing about them gives you an appreciation for just how hard it is to get any film off the ground

[@unchartedchartz]

It's kinda crazy how similar the 2004 BvS movie was to what we actually got.

[@shanelorrison5224]

A 2-hour long video about unmade superhero movies?!?! Yes, please!!

[@OptimusMaximusNero]

1:27:20 *Fun fact:* The iconic panel depicting Ozymandias exclaiming "I DID IT!!!" is inspired by the moment from the 10th issue of the comic book series "Green Lantern" (published in 1943) in which the Cro-Magnon Vandal Savage, after becoming immortal, tiumphantly shouts at the Rising Sun that he shall live forever and beat everyone who stand in his way to power

[@keremmazman3761]

Also, in that "i did it" panel arms of Ozymandias and yellow background creates a doomsday clock.

[@logannottheonefrommarvel9917]

Against my better judgement, I actually really want to see The Amazing Spider-Man 3 since Andrew Garfield has gotten the recognition he deserves.

[@outpostalpha]

These stories of abandoned media are always so interesting, and Owen does such a terrific job of putting together and sharing all of the available information. Excellent video!

[@OwenLikesComics]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mttylerdurden9]

I still want to see Joe Carnahan's 70s dark taxi driver-like take on daredevil.

[@TroyNaumu808]

The premise of the original script by Goldman was better than what we ended up with. Tweaked with a little more light so it would not be as dark it would have been a good film.

[@OptimusMaximusNero]

I find it quite funny that Dick was going to become Nightwing in "Batman: Unchained". Although Chris O'Donnell gave a pretty good performance, the man was obviously too old to play the boy wonder, especially during the hero's early years. He actually reminds me of Dick Grayson from Earth Two, who never stopped being Robin even at the age of forty XD

[@AprilMoon7]

A 2 hour video by Owen? Yeah, it's gonna be a good night.

[@OwenLikesComics]

Enjoy!

[@owensreviews625]

Gosh, there’s a LOT more projects here than I initially thought.

[@OwenLikesComics]

And there's plenty more films I didn't include in this video!

[@owensreviews625]

@@OwenLikesComicspart 2, possibly?

[@tigermacc8850]

The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man 4 hurts me the most

[@Sameeer_Saker]

Man, the 2004 Batman vs Superman is what BvS should’ve been

[@SteveSmith-wk9dx]

Batman Vs Superman is a concept that seems very attractive but is difficult to execute. A one-shot film just isn't the place for it. Unfortunately, there are too many writers, directors and producers who read Frank Miller's 'Dark Knight' and are overwhelmed by the idea, like toddlers smashing their superhero figures together. The problem is in failing to understand how much groundwork Frank Miller put in to get the narrative to the point where the two titans clash. The graphic novel is long and dense, with a complex visual language that is unique to comic books. Most importantly, it covers so much more than the fight between the two heroes. The title doesn't mention Batman vs Superman. For most of the story, Batman is fighting street gangs, running from cops, and learning his new limits. He rekindles old alliances and makes new ones, before confronting his past and going up against the Joker one last time. There's at least a whole movie-worth of plot before the fight is even hinted at. You could rewrite the whole thing without Batman fighting Superman, and it would work perfectly. It's only in retrospect that it feels like the fight has been a horrible inevitability which both characters have been pushed towards. There's a feeling that both would rather anything else would happen, and it's a fight neither can win. It's a metaphor for Mutually Assured Destruction boiling over into actual war, which in the mid-80s felt like a terrifyingly real possibility.

[@ethanfisk6710]

It's definitely different but I honestly really like the Sam Hamm Watchmen script's ending, having it all fold in and undo itself to reset to the comic feels like a fascinating way to adapt an "unadaptable" graphic novel!

[@TheOGCoolbreezel]

Honestly, I feel the same

[@Bobbybillybillbob]

An MCU Sinister Six would have been cool early on, where Psidey calls on some of the original Avengers to lend a hand against the Six (Cap, Iron Man, Widow, Hawkeye, Falcon) working alongside Spiderman. I could see it being set during ohase 3, prior to Civil War (obv Spiderman would be established earlier)

[@bensneb360]

’m one of the few people who as actually looking forward to The Amazing Spider-Man 3. I thought where they left the story had a lot of potential, with Peter, dealing with Gwen‘s death, I thought Andrew could have a chance to really flex his acting abilities, and I heard they were going to bring in Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane, that sounds exciting to me… I hope we get some form of The Amazing Spider-Man 3 someday

[@klokinstein]

This is a great video. I used to love browsing Wikipedia when there were full descriptions of some of these failed productions. This is a very fun way of learning about them! I wish some of them could have been! Good or bad!

[@OwenLikesComics]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Shift_Salt]

Justice League Mortal would be an amazing animated movie, I know they've already kinda done that story but it's still a great melding of different stories and iconic elements of DC.

[@haileyshannon7548]

To see Nicholson, Devito, Pffiffer, Jones, Carrey, Swartzanegger, Thurman, among others on the screen at the same time. That would be amazing but the money and the egos would make it impossible

[@MrEdWeirdoShow]

Marvel's goofy The Thing versus The Hulk/Thor, etc. fights. They sometimes got childish with one another, and that what's what DC totally ripped off in an attempt at their own characters "not getting along" once in awhile. It was always a dumb idea, both in the 1960s through the present day. A million villains out there, but they're ignored in favor of their pals? No sale, no thanks.

[@NeroPiroman]

honestly, there have been so many cancelations that there is enough material for another 2 hour video

[@andrescansecoorozco2788]

This probably wouldn’t count, but like 10 years ago Guillermo del Toro was going to do a Hulk tv series (outside of MCU continuity), the series would be made by Marvel Television and would air on ABC, but finally they dropped the series on favor of Agents of SHIELD, but a few years back Guillermo finish the script of the pilot among other scripts of projects that were cancelled or was going to involve originally.

[@skinoff89]

I think the Spider-Man universe could’ve been really cool, especially since Garfield is my fav spidey, but I imagine it would’ve gotten old really quickly. As much as i would’ve liked seeing every character in live action & potentially getting multiple a year, it’s probably more interesting to see him in Avengers & hell NWH was way more exciting than the universe could’ve probably ever been. Also quality wise if they were anything like the Venom movies & morbius, we dodged a bullet.

[@MrBranh0913]

It’s crazy how much better the original BVS script was so much better than what we got. Like WTF Warner Bros?

[@FigmentForever]

Offtopic somewhat but Aronofsky would be perfect for a Calendar Man mixed with Seven type movie if The Batman hadn’t come along. However, I think he’s best suited for more poignant indie movies in the vein of The Fountain & The Whale. Both are impeccable.

[@GLC48]

Not sure if you mention it in the video (I’m only half way through), but at one point in the 90s, James Cameron was supposed to make a Spider-Man movie, that apparently would have been R rated and super dark.

[@TheOGCoolbreezel]

Also wasn't the Cameron's movie the reason why Electro and Sandman were absent from the 1994 animated series?

[@wayneeast405]

The ones i really thought we missed out were Superman Lives and Justice League Mortal. Both those movies could have jumpstarted their dead IP's.

[@HishamA.N_Comicbroe]

Knew this would be a long video as soon as I saw the title. The history of a lot of these unmade films has always been interesting to me!

[@OwenLikesComics]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@SpensaVenture]

I would've loved an Amazing Spiderman 3, even after the disastrous 2

[@Draliseth]

Word. Andrew was always my favorite casting for that role. His reasons for leaving further cement my appreciation of him.

[@gechoman44iwantahippo]

I loved 2, but 3 just sounded terrible to me

[@joeclarke7982]

God, I wish we could've gotten an Agent Venom movie

[@thakingtrystan398]

As a superhero addict, it's incredible to know superheros are here to stay. When I was growing up? You never knew when someones movie was on the way. There was no KZbin. No internet. No word it was on the way, ect... So youd be really bouncing off the wall. Screaming (YES!). actually celebrating. High fives, ect... These days it's kinda like opening a Christmas present early. You know it's on the way. You can expect it. You know the entire cast.... Also have you noticed, films don't have soundtracks no more? WTF?

[@samwill7259]

How many of these were worse ideas than the DCEU movies we actually GOT? Mmmm... None. I would take literally all of these instead.

[@desshinta9428]

Considering Kurtzman and Orci's disasters in the past, we likely dodged bullets by their films not being made.

[@JoeLovesComics]

Wow, fascinating, glad I finally watched this!

[@KiramidHead]

-Batman vs Superman is a pretty decent script that completely falls apart once Lex enters it. His plan is just ridiculous, poorly explained in all its details, and the fight against him at the end doesn't work at all. -Out of the Sony stuff from this period, I've only read the Silver and Black script. It isn't terrible, but it's weird and doesn't fully work, stuffing in tons of characters and references, a few of which don't make much sense. And giving Black Cat super powers is just wrong. -Batman Unchained is one I'd love to read, just to see how all the pieces fit together on the page. It certainly *sounds* good, but it's hard to tell from just the information we have. -Those 80s Watchmen scripts surprised me, as outside of the very beginning and the very ending, they're actually fairly decent adaptations of the comic. And there's a 1992 rewrite that attempts a version of the squid ending. -There's a 2003 draft of Flyby that fixes a lot of the issues with the first draft, cleaning up some of the messier bits and having a much better portrayal of Lex. It still has the weak Death of Superman stuff in it, though, and Krypton still is unexploded, but handled in a different way. -Aronofsky's Year One is a wild script that's fun to read, and makes for an interesting experiment, but overall I'm very glad we got Begins instead.

[@OwenLikesComics]

Great breakdown, thanks!

[@KiramidHead]

@@OwenLikesComics Thanks. :)

[@Akkbar21]

Great video idea. Get all this super interesting info on one engaging video. Filling the need you see. 👍

[@OwenLikesComics]

Glad you liked it!

[@Akkbar21]

@@OwenLikesComicsthx brotha. I thought it was an all new video, but it’s still good.

[@salvatoreocello]

That Batman Superman vs lex would have been amazing

[@Rayyman]

Actually Akiva was ahead of his time because of the dark natured approach to what DC does today. You take one character and challenge his core and you have superman trying to do what he does while going through his own personal issues. This was the perfect vehicle on the best way to put them at odds. They are friends and have worked together before. I think this would've been a perfect story if done correctly with the right cast

[@Yoshimitsu4prez]

I do kinda love Batman and Robin for its unapologetic camp lol

[@Akkbar21]

I’d buy a ticket to see the Infinite Crisis movie.

[@Kmadden2004]

Say what you want about JJ Abrams’s Superman script, at least he took some big swings with it and didn’t play it safe. I don’t know, part of me kinda wishes we’d have had that Abrams working in Star Wars rather than the one we got…

[@OptimusMaximusNero]

I think the Wonder Woman show could have perfectly worked with a better direction and production team. I would have loved to see there iconic amazonian characters like Donna Troy in live-action by first time

[@JaiProdz]

I agree. Especially sad given that the casting of Adrienne was a good one! It's a shame she was never given a proper chance. Not in Marvel, not in the Aquaman pilot, and not as Wonder Woman (nor given a chance to reprise the role in the Arrowowverse).

[@JaiProdz]

It's interesting that Will Smith was considered for the Batman versus Superman movie, especially given how in today's industry so many race pending make people up in arms😂

[@jordanfrost25]

TASM 3, Raimi's Spider-Man 4, Batman Beyond with Michael Keaton and a solo Ben Affleck Batman film are the only ones I'd wish would happen

[@Bale4Bond]

They would have tanked the third Amazing Spiderman just like they did the two prior ones

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

The solo Ben Affleck Batman movie probably would have just been a faithful live action of the dark knight returns

[@kalgrove6426]

Even though he is not a superhero I have always been intrigued by the shelved Marvel's Mort The Dead Teenager from 2003. It would have starred Elijah Wood and Jessica Simpson. Apparently some test footage was shot but I've never been able to find it online.

[@ronaldlawhorne209]

Hollywood's troubling obsession with the concept of a shared universe....I hope that we've finally gathered enough information about an ongoing cinematic universe to make it clear that they're basically impossible to implement,and that they're literally impossible to maintain. The MCU has been the only shared cinematic universe that didn't suck at shared cinematic universes,and the abruptness with which they became terrible at it pretty much tells me that we just need to hang up the entire concept. Even if Marvel gets themselves back on track. ....the ever growing continuity and general lore will swallow it all eventually anyway....

[@haileyshannon7548]

I like cameos and Easter eggs, though, not the whole multiverse idea

[@oatmat]

Justice League Mortal was my favorite one

[@JaiProdz]

For whatever reason I never Tire of hearing about on made films and the histories behind them. ❤

[@OwenLikesComics]

Hope you enjoy the video, then!

[@TevyaSmolka]

the amazing Spiderman 3 in my opinion just felt like a terrible trainwreck waiting to happen and plus just felt like sony was going to bury Spider-Man even more in the movies at least in my opinion.

[@Bale4Bond]

14:28 how lovely that would have been...

[@kob2fly]

The original BvS script sounds a million times better wtf

[@cooperdalbo8792]

It's not right that bealls script for justice league was rejected - yet it's the same premise for Snyders justice league along with his whiteboard plans

[@resirection]

Lee Shapiro teaches at my school I spoke with him about the film he's very humble

[@martinbabich1920]

Akiva Goldsman's Batman v Superman doesn't sound half bad, it would probably still be not as good as Spider-man 2 but it desn't sound bad

[@deltafive_o-first2417]

26:38 lol

[@crashedfilms5720]

i liked how this batman v superman film. both are empathetic but bruce is still justified but wrong. AND THEYRE BOTH FRIENDS.

[@maahirpatel6036]

Owen the GOAT

[@Mephiestopholes]

Hey Drake! Hey, Scott!

[@srstriker6420]

Where is David S Goyer’s flash movie?

[@daviddyster4145]

Nice compilation do you think you’ll do a video where you’ll talk about how George Perez saved wonder woman

[@OwenLikesComics]

I'd definitely be open to it, sure!

[@daviddyster4145]

@@OwenLikesComics thank you, happy Easter by the way.

[@FigmentForever]

Long but perfect to encompass all the “multiverse variations” of superhero movies we could’ve had. The ZS’s Watchmen , Nolan’s DK Trilogy, and despite its length & lack of a follow up - ZS’s Justice League were all near perfect. I wish we’d gotten a different Watchmen TV Series - focusing on Before Watchmen or even Doomsday Clock.

[@sarfootball]

Hey Owen in your next video can you please review the movie RRR made by SS Rajamouli and how that movie should teach to make Marvel and DC

[@avisionleshawn1116]

I know this is an unpopular opinion but I really don't care for Chris Nolan because his Batman movies lack joyful and fun moments I don't care what people say about Batman Forever Batman and Robin I also enjoyed Justice League 2017 I loved those movies in the same way that I loved Michael Keaton Batman I would also love to see Batman Triumphant along with a Batman trilogy with Ben Affleck and Andrew Garfield's Amazing Spider Man 3 alot of you wouldn't agree with me and that's okay keep in mind guys that this is just my passionate opinion once again thank you Owen I will always keep reading

[@mttylerdurden9]

Darren Aronofsky almost made a ROBOCOP and wolverine movie as well.

[@Draliseth]

He's almost made so many damn movies I was looking forward to and following that whenever I see his name associated with a production I just presume it's not going to happen.

[@somegoodtimes1341]

Owen just said let me spoil y’all with a hour long video, haven’t finished it yet but the topic is interesting so won’t take longer for me to finish.

[@OwenLikesComics]

Thank you!

[@FigmentForever]

Lastly, where are the best places to find scripts for these unproduced movies.

[@OwenLikesComics]

A lot of them are online, if you Google around you'll find them!

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

I may paint a target on my back for saying this. but I don't think we lost anything of value with these not being made.

[@Bale4Bond]

You are correct

[@OwenLikesComics]

Still, it's fun to think about what could've been

[@AngelPerez-tu1nk]

@@OwenLikesComics That's not UNtrue

[@hypersleepdialogues8889]

The 2004 BvS sounds Infinity better than the crap fest we got from Snyder

[@Shift_Salt]

All the ideas for more ASM movies were fucking horrible, especially the one that basically made Peter into a Doctor Frankenstein type. THAT'S A MILES WARREN APPROACH, NOT PETER. lmao

[@goheen1701]

When did Wonder Woman ever have her own animated series? Answer: Never. That was enough for a 'thumbs down'. I've been following comics since '78 & don't appreciate you trying to put one over on newer fans, Mate.

[@OwenLikesComics]

When did I say there ever was a Wonder Woman animated series? If its at the beginning of the WW TV series segment, I think you'll find I'm referring to her appearances in the DCAU.

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

:)

[@texastornado1075]

Damn, JJ tried to turn Lex Luthor into Stan Smith. 🇺🇸