10 Planned Sequels That We Never Got to See
John Squires
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The movie-making business is a fickle one, with projects oftentimes appearing one day and then completely disappearing the next. There are so many factors that go into making a movie that it’s quite frankly a miracle that so many movies do end up getting made. But what about the ones that are planned and announced, but never actually materialize?
There are a whole lot of them, and today we take a look at a handful of horror sequels that found themselves (perhaps forever) stuck in the dreaded Development Hell!
BEFORE THE MASK : THE RETURN OF LESLIE VERNON
One of the most frustrating stories in recent years within the horror genre is the story of Before The Mask, the sequel to 2006’s utterly brilliant cult classic Behind The Mask that, for whatever reason, just can’t seem to get off the ground. Described as a “spreemake,” meaning a sequel, prequel and a remake all rolled into one, Before The Mask took to Kickstarter a couple years back, after Anchor Bay refused to fund it, and the campaign unfortunately only raised less than half of its $450,000 goal.
Despite the fact that the script is written, and director Scott Glosserman is itching to bring Leslie Vernon back to life, the project is at this point in time dead in the water, due to a lack of funding. Though if all the great slashers have taught us anything, it’s that they’ll always be back for more.
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT 3
Rumors of a third installment in the Blair Witch Project franchise have been circulating around the internet since the release of the second film back in 2000, which was at the time supposedly going to be a prequel to the two films, telling the story of the titular Blair Witch. Many years later, in 2009, the writing/directing duo of the first one (Eduardo Sanchez & Daniel Myrick) announced that they would taking back the reigns of the series, and were hard at work on a second sequel, reporting that they had come up with an idea that they were really excited about.
Talks resumed in 2011 when Sanchez was promoting his film Lovely Molly, telling the press that the sequel would disregard the events of Book of Shadows, and feature appearances by the cast members of the original film. He said the ball was in Lionsgate’s court, and to this day they’ve still never taken that ball and ran with it. “The film seems inevitable to me,” Sanchez recently told us, and he seems confident that it’s only a matter of time.
CANDYMAN 4
The closest a fourth installment in the Candyman franchise ever got to being made was back in 2004, when the film was being actively developed. According to Tony Todd, legal issues halted the production, as no one at the time was really sure who owned the rights to the franchise. In 2009 Todd began talking about Candyman 4 again, saying he had been coming up with ideas for it and talking it over with Deon Taylor, a director who he was working with at the time.
Right around the same time, there were rumors that the franchise would be getting a complete remake, without Tony Todd in the lead role, though not a peep has been heard about either project in several years. Maybe if we all collectively chant his name in the mirror, the Candyman will soon return.
MORE UNMADE SEQUELS ON NEXT PAGE!
