User:FrostFairBlade/sandbox/John Woo's unrealised projects

The following is a list of unproduced John Woo projects in roughly chronological order. During his career, film director John Woo has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially cancelled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.

1990s

Untitled melodrama film written by Quentin Tarantino

• In 1992, Woo met director Quentin Tarantino in Toronto when he screened Hard Boiled (1992) at the city's Festival of Festivals.
  • Tarantino, a big fan of Woo's, was impressed by Hard Boiled, and promised the director that he would write a script for him within a month

Kato

• During the production of Hard Boiled (1992), filmmaker Oliver Stone inquired to see if Woo would like to direct a Warner Bros. kung fu film called Kato
• This movie would star Phillip Rhee as a martial artist
• However, this project fell apart; according to Woo, the studio executives considered him a neophyte director and did not give him "respective pay"

Pin Cushion

• In January 1993, there were reports that TriStar Pictures wanted to sign Woo to direct a vehicle for Sharon Stone called Pin Cushion

Shadow War

• Following the release of Hard Target (1993), Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert offered Woo the chance to direct a thriller film called Shadow War at Universal
• However, it eventually did not come to fruition

Tears of the Sun

• Around the same time that he was developing Shadow War, Woo was also working with 20th Century Fox to make Tears of the Sun
• This was a project that had been in development for several years, with multiple writers contributing to its script
• Woo said in a 1995 interview with the South China Morning Post that he had been location scouting for eight months in preparation for making the film, but scheduling issues caused the project to fall apart
  • Woo would go on to make Broken Arrow (1996) for 20th Century Fox

Ring of Blood

• Also reported around the same time as Shadow War and Tears of the Sun, Woo was in talks with 20th Century Fox to direct an action comedy film called Ring of Blood
  • This movie would be about a Chinese police officer seeking revenge for the death of his mother

Mafia Cop

• In February 1994, Variety reported that New Line Cinema paid Woo a seven-figure sum to film an action movie about a Florida police officer and the mafia
• This project would later be given the working title Mafia Cop

The Serpent's Tooth

• Around the same time as the above projects, Woo had been attached to a film for Cinergi Pictures called The Serpent's Tooth
• This was a project written by Michael Cimino that had been bought by Cinergi from Carolco Pictures after the latter went bankrupt

The Devil's Soldier

• An April 1996 report by The Asian Wall Street Journal noted that Woo was working with Tom Cruise on The Devil's Soldier, based on the novel by Caleb Carr about the life of an American mercenary in the Qing Dynasty
• However, this project was cancelled for budgetary reasons

King's Ransom

• A 1997 article in The New York Times stated that Woo would start filming a comedy called King's Ransom the following year
• In 1998, the Los Angeles Times reported that the movie was in development at 20th Century Fox and would likely begin production once Woo finished Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
• According to a report by Ain't It Cool News in 1999, Woo had originally developed the film as a traditional action movie working with writer John McCormick, but over time wanted to rework it into a more playful caper film with more lightheartedness and romance
  • The screenwriters from Face/Off (1997), Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, were brought in to deliver rewrites featuring a love triangle between a female jewel thief, her partner-in-crime, and an FBI agent
  • However, 20th Century Fox was expecting a script more in line with a traditional John Woo action movie, and insisted the film be reworked so that an A-list movie star would be interested in signing on
  • Because of the delays, Woo instead focused on Mission: Impossible 2
• In a 2000 interview with Asiaweek, Woo stated that he had been anticipating making King's Ransom with Chow Yun-fat, stating that he hoped that the film "will help Hollywood see [Chow's] true quality and talent."
• In another 2000 interview, this time with Première, Woo said: "The character changed. We're still working on a script. It's a very delightful Cary Grant kind of movie, young, with a lot of romance and energy."
• Woo confirmed in 2003 that the project was cancelled, saying, "The script kept changing and changing, and it lost the original taste."
• However, Woo and his longtime producer, Terence Chang, tried again in 2009 to provide the film under the Fox International Productions banner, with former assistant director Patrick Leung potentially helming the project

The Last Word

• In March 1998, Variety reported that TriStar Pictures had lined up The Last Word, a period Western film for Woo and Chang to produce
  • Reportedly, the studio paid a six-figure sum for the spec screenplay

The Phantom of the Opera remake

• Sometime during the late 1990s, Woo had been considered a candidate to direct a movie remake of The Phantom of the Opera musical
• According to Woo, John Travolta, who was a fan of the musical, approached him with the idea of making the musical in his style; however, the project did not materialise

2000s

The Killer Elite remake

• In March 2001, it was announced that Woo and Chang would produce a remake of Sam Peckinpah's film The Killer Elite (1975)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film

• In October 2000, it was reported that Woo, Chang, and a couple of other companies would create the production company Digital Rim
  • This new company would serve to create and distribute digital pictures, video games, and computer-generated imagery for film and television
• In June of the following year, it was announced that Digital Rim would collaborate with Mirage Studios to develop and produce an animated film based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise
• Digital Rim had already produced a television pilot for a TMNT CG-animated series, hoping that networks would be interested; however, an August 2001 update by IGN confirmed that the idea for the television series was scrapped
• The TMNT film was tentatively scheduled for a Christmas 2002 release
• However, Woo confirmed in a 2003 interview with Patrick Macias that the TMNT film was not going to happen

The Line

• As early as July 2001, Woo was attached to The Line, a period film starring Chow Yun-fat about a Chinese railroad worker who vows to get revenge on those who sold him into slavery
• Later reportedly titled Men of Destiny and Land of Destiny, Nicolas Cage was rumoured to be attached to the project

Mighty Mouse film

• In November 2002, it was reported that Woo might be working with Nickelodeon Movies on a Mighty Mouse film for Paramount

Charlie Chan film

• In the spring of 2003, Woo was rumoured to be producing a film of the fictional detective Charlie Chan; it was meant to star Lucy Liu under Lion Rock Productions

Metroid film

• In April 2004, Woo confirmed he optioned the film rights to the Metroid video game series via Tiger Hill Games
• Woo would be producing the movie and given the option to direct it; The Hollywood Reporter asserted that the film would be releasing by Christmas 2005
• However, Nintendo producer Yoshio Sakamoto refuted the reported release date
• In a 2012 interview with IGN, Tiger Hill co-founder Brad Foxhoven stated the project fizzled out; he claimed that Nintendo was apprehensive about outside writers handling their franchises ever since the box office failure of Super Mario Bros. (1993), but couldn't provide in-depth answers about Samus Aran's backstory raised by the filmmakers

Spyhunter film

• Woo was briefly attached to a Spyhunter film as reported in May 2004, but had left by 2005 due to scheduling conflicts

Rainbow Six film

• Woo was also involved with a potential Rainbow Six film adaptation

He-Man film

• Woo was linked to a He-Man film based on the Masters of the Universe media franchise

Le Cercle Rouge

• Woo had been linked in 2004 to a potential remake of Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Cercle Rouge (1970) for Paramount
• A Variety article from February 2007 noted that he had decided to step away from directing the remake, with fellow Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To stepping in as his replacement

Demonik video game and film

• In 2005, Woo's Tiger Hill Entertainment announced that they would work together with director Clive Barker on Demonik, an action-adventure game developed by Terminal Reality and published by Majesco
• Demonik was intended to also have an accompanying movie, with Barker retaining the option to write and direct it
• The game was scheduled to release in the spring of 2005, but was cancelled in January of that year after Majesco had a poor fiscal quarter

Untitled thriller film for StudioCanal

• In May 2005, Variety reported that Woo's Lion Rock Productions would partner with StudioCanal to make modernised remakes of three French thriller films
• The following month, it was announced that Woo would return to China to direct and produce a then-untitled thriller film for Bristol Bay Productions and StudioCanal
• This movie would be about an American who becomes embroiled in a struggle between Chinese government officials and the underworld forces behind China's underground economy

Caliber film adaptation

• Prior to announcing what would become The Crossing (2014), it was reported in July 2008 that Woo was attached to direct an adaptation of Radical Comics' Caliber, itself a retelling of the Arthurian legend
• This was refuted by Woo in November 2009, where he cited scheduling issues

Flying Tigers

• Woo stated in a press conference in July 2009 that he was planning to make a World War II historical film about the Flying Tigers.
• In August 2010, IMAX Corporation announced that Woo would be releasing the movie in IMAX format, and that shooting would begin the following spring
• Woo remarked that he would like Liam Neeson to be cast in a leading role
• By April 2013, it was reported that the film would be released as a two-part feature film in China, and a six-hour min-series internationally
• However, in a 2022 interview with Deadline, Woo said that it had been difficult to find financial backing for the historical epic, due to the film's scope and requisite amount of special effects

Le Samouraï

• As early as October 2009, Woo was reportedly interested in remaking another Melville film, Le Samouraï (1967)
• This movie is one of Woo's favourites, as he had written a tribute to it that was included in the The Criterion Collection's DVD release of the movie
• In an August 2010 interview with Variety, Woo stated he hoped to attract A-list actors for an English-language remake of the movie
• In a January 2013 interview with German newspaper Die Welt, Woo said that American writers were working on the script for it, and that partially due to German funding, the movie would likely shift settings from Paris to Berlin

Untitled film about Marco Polo

• Around the same time as when he announced he was working on Le Samouraï, Woo mentioned that he had another project about Marco Polo in development

Day of the Beast

• In 2012, Woo announced that he would direct a remake of Seijun Suzuki's Youth of the Beast (1963) called Day of the Beast
• His and Chang's Lion Rock Productions would co-produce the film with Nikkatsu's Naoki Sato, based on a script written by Rob Frisbee
• In a 2014 interview with Time Out Hong Kong, Woo reiterated his intention to work it, noting that the movie needed financing

2010s

Septet: The Story of Hong Kong

• Woo had originally been slotted to direct a portion of the anthology film Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (2020), but withdrew from production for personal reasons

References

Cited literature

• Elder, Robert K., ed. (2005). John Woo: Interviews. Conversations with Filmmakers Series. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-57806-776-3. Retrieved 29 November 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Macias, Patrick. "John Woo: Hot-handed God of Hong Kong Film Directors". In Elder (2005).
  • Thompson, Anne. "Number One with a Bullet". In Elder (2005).
• Stokes, Lisa Odham; Hoover, Michael (1999). City on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema. Verso. ISBN 978-1-85984-716-9. Retrieved 12 April 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)