For every movie that gets made, there are several that never see the light of day. That doesn’t necessarily mean they would have been bad, it just means that something went wrong during the development phase or the studios realized there was no point in making the movie.
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Even though superhero movies belong among the most popular ones, they’re not exempt from cancellation, as the fans have learned the hard way many times before. Some of the most promising canceled Marvel movies continue to tease the fans' imagination to this very day as they think about what could have been if only the circumstances had been different.
5Spider-Man 4
The Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguirein the leading role is now considered iconic, and the fans were overjoyed when Maguire reprised his role as Peter Parker in the 2021 MCU movieSpider-Man: No Way Home. But back in the 2000s,Spider-Man 3(2007) destroyed the chance of a fourth movie with Maguire’s Spider-Man. The third movie was profitable, but the reviews were brutal, and the fourth movie didn’t get much further than the pre-production stage.
Apparently, the problem was to decide which villain would appear in the movie, as there were multiple options on the table. Plus, Sam Raimi and the studios didn’t see eye to eye on this question as Raimi wanted Morbius in the movie and the studios were asking for Carnage, Mysterio and Vulture instead. The good news is that even though the movie didn’t happen, at least the Marvel fans got to see live-action versions of these villains since then.
4Silver & Black
Marvel continues to have a lack of movies centered on female characters, let alone antiheroes, something which this movie could have fixed had it happened. It would have focused on Black Cat and Silver Sable, both of whom played an important part in Spider-Man’s life. The movie was originally supposed to start filming back in 2018, but problems with the script delayed the production and then the movie was canceled.
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The good news is thata movie about Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, is supposedly in the worksand IMDb states it should premiere in 2023. Silver Sable, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be so lucky since even though there’s a movie listed on IMDb, it seems to have been in development limbo since 2018. Those who like the two characters and wish to see them on the big screen aren’t therefore likely to get their wish anytime soon.
3Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man
Unlike other canceled Marvel movies,Ant-Maneventually premiered, but under a different director. Originally,the popular British director Edgar Wright was attached to the movie, and all fans familiar with Wright’s talent for science fiction and comedy were looking forward to his version of the shrinking superhero.
But even though Wright was originally tasked to directAnt-Manall the way back in 2006, nothing came out of it. Wright eventually left the movie after the script has been rewritten many times, and later, Peyton Reed replaced Wright as the director of the movie that came out in 2015. Still, to this day, many fans wonder what Edgar Wright’sAnt-Manwould have looked like in comparison to the actual movie that was made.
2X-Men Origins: Magneto
With the premiere of movies such asJoker(2019) orDeadpool(2016), it’s now more common to give space even to characters who aren’t (always) heroic. But even thoughMagneto is one of the most popular X-Men, he never got his solo movie, unlike Wolverine. Originally, it seemed like Magneto would star in a solo movie even afterX-Men Origins: Wolverinefailed both with the audience and the critics.
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Considering Magneto’s rich and dark past, themovie would have focused on his younger yearsafter he had been imprisoned in Auschwitz during World War Two. Even though the movie got scrapped, the good news is that a part of Magneto’s backstory made it into the X-Men prequel/sequelX-Men: First Class(2011). So even though the fans didn’t get a standalone Magneto movie, at least they learned more about the iconic antihero’s past.
1The Amazing Spider-Man 3 And 4
Unlike Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire,The Amazing Spider-Manseries with Andrew Garfield didn’t get even a third movie. Not for a lack of planning, though. Sony originally intended to make two additional movies but canceled the plans after the release ofThe Amazing Spider-Man 2in 2014.
The third movie would have had a lot to talk about. It would focus on Peter Parker trying to deal with the fact he failed to save Gwen Stacy’s life andthe return of Norman Osborn. The fourth movie would then most likely have featured the Sinister Six. And it’s more than likely that Mary Jane Watson (played by Shailene Woodley) would have made an appearance. At leastAndrew Garfield’s fans got to see his Spider-Man one more timeinSpider-Man: No Way Home.
