8 films that were shelved after the lead actor died
The death of an iconic film actor is always a sad occasion — even more so when a movie role dies with them. Over the decades, many of our brightest stars have passed away while they were gearing up to play roles that might have won them critical acclaim or awards. Others, meanwhile, had been preparing to reprise roles they made their own. In some cases this can lead to the movie being recast, but there have also been those occasions when someone’s untimely passing led to a movie being shelved for good. Read on for some of those films that were sadly cancelled when one of their main cast members died, leaving us to wonder what might have been. (Picture: BBC / REX)
1. Addams Family sequel (Raul Julia)
Those of us who grew up in the 90s will be all too familiar with the Addams Family films, which brought Morticia, Gomez and their clan to life on the big screen in both 1991’s The Addams Family and its sequel, Addams Family Values, in 1993. And among the most notable cast members was actor Raul Julia, whose Gomez provided the perfect, smitten foil to Anjelica Huston’s Morticia. The stage was set for a third movie but Julia’s untimely death in 1994 from a stroke ended any plans for the franchise to return in that form, with both Huston and Lloyd both reportedly declining out of respect for their late co-star. The Addams clan ultimately resurfaced in 1998’s direct-to-video effort Addams Family Reunion – an unrelated project featuring Tim Curry as Gomez – and in two animated movies released in 2019 and 2021. And then there’s Wednesday, of course. But we’ll always be left to wonder how a third movie with the original cast might have turned out. (Picture: Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
2. Mrs Doubtfire sequel (Robin Williams)
The late, great Robin Williams played many notable roles throughout his career, showing off both his acting talents and his comedic brilliance. And one film which gave him the chance to showcase both was Mrs Doubtfire, the classic comedy about a divorced dad who disguises himself as the titular nanny in order to spend time with his children. The film was a box office smash when it was released in 1993, with the character remaining so beloved that it’s no surprise plans were in place for a follow-up, with director Chris Columbus describing the script as ‘really strong’. However Robin Williams’ tragic death from suicide in 2014 put an end to those plans. Speaking to Variety in 2023, Columbus revealed the actor had been concerned about the physical demands of the role. ‘We talked about it and I think he was hoping in the rewrite we would cut back on the Doubtfire character. But then Robin passed away so there will never be a sequel to Mrs. Doubtfire.’ (Picture: 20th Century Fox/Blue Wolf/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
3. Galaxy Quest sequel (Alan Rickman)
Galaxy Quest, about the cast of a sci-fi series who are drawn into a real intergalactic conflict by a troupe of clueless aliens, is one of the funniest, most underrated comedies of the 90s. Which might explain why there’s been talk of a sequel over the intervening years with Tim Allen – one of the original stars – previously revealing that a screenplay did exist. However, the death of Alan Rickman in 2016 halted plans, with Allen telling Comic Book Resources in 2024: ‘There’s been a script and our friend Alan Rickman passed away, so that script involving he and I in the whole story disappeared.’ There is, however, talk of a TV spin-off series, so we may not have seen the last of this one yet. (Picture: REX)
4. Pink Panther sequel (Peter Sellers)
Actor and comedian Peter Sellers played many notable roles during his career — among them bumbling detective Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series, a character he introduced to moviegoers in 1963’s The Pink Panther. He reprised the loveable character several times but one film we never got to see him in was 1980’s Romance Of The Pink Panther, based on a script which Sellers had written along with co-author Jim Moloney. Sadly, the actor’s death from a heart attack in July 1980 meant he never got the chance to make the film. Although Dudley Moore was offered the chance to step into Clouseau’s shoes, he refused to make the movie for anyone other than regular Panther director Blake Edwards, and said he would play the role once only as a tribute to Sellers. Ultimately it never came to be and the script remains unproduced. Although the Pink Panther series did continue with 1985’s Curse Of The Pink Panther and Son Of The Pink Panther in 1993, before Steve Martin stepped into the role in a 2006 Pink Panther reboot and its 2009 sequel. (Picture: Snap/Shutterstock)
5. Fatty Arbuckle biopic
While Saturday Night Live stalwart Chris Farley might have been known for such wacky comedies as Tommy Boy and Black Sheep, he came very close to showing us a more serious side in a planned biopic of Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle. Farley was said to be super-keen on playing Arbuckle, whose career as one of Hollywood’s first major stars was destroyed when he was accused of the assault and murder of silent film actress Virginia Rappe (despite later being acquitted). Sadly, Farley died in December 1997 of an accidental drug overdose aged just 33 — and with him went plans for the movie, which never became a reality. It wasn’t the last time a film of Arbuckle’s life stalled either as plans for an HBO film, starring Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet as the doomed star, never made it past the development stage. (Picture: Paramount Pictures/Getty Images)
6. Something’s Got to Give
One of the most talked-about celebrity deaths of all time has to be that of Marilyn Monroe. The legendary star of such classics as Some Like It Hot and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was found dead at her home in Los Angeles in 1962, aged just 36 — and midway through filming the comedy Something’s Got To Give. The movie, directed by Hollywood legend George Cukor, was subsequently abandoned, with most of the completed footage remaining unseen for many years. Although producers 20th Century Fox later overhauled the movie’s idea and turned it into 1963’s Move Over Darling, starring Doris Day. To this day, the only chance to see what we could have had remains in the documentary Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days, which features footage from the unfinished film. (Picture:Baron/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
7. Broken Dream (River Phoenix)
River Phoenix was regarded as one of the brightest up and coming talents in Hollywood in the late 80s and early 90s, lighting up the screen in movies such as Stand By Me, My Own Private Idaho and Running on Empty (which earned him an Oscar nomination). However his career came to a premature, tragic end when he died of acute combined drug intoxication in October 1993, aged just 23, At the time he was lined up to make Broken Dream, a love story set in a futuristic world written by Neil Jordan and directed by John Boorman, but his death brought a sad end to the project. According to Watchmojo, the project was resurrected in 2011, with John Hurt, Caleb Landry Jones and Ben Kingsley all attached, but there’s been no further developments, and with Hurt having died in 2017, we’re left to wonder whether it will ever get made. (Picture George Rose/Getty Images)
8. A Confederacy of Dunces
Finally, here’s one which hasn’t been ‘cancelled’ as such but remains unmade, with the deaths of more than one potential leading actor regarded as a factor. John Kennedy Toole’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, about the misadventures of overweight, unemployed misanthrope Ignatius J Reilly, was published in 1980, 11 years after his death, and plans were afoot for John Belushi to star in a film version. Until, sadly, the Blues Brothers actor died of a drug overdose in March 1982 aged 33 — just two days before he’d been due to attend a meeting about the role. Others who were considered included John Candy – although he passed on the project prior to his death in 1994 – and Chris Farley, who died in 1997. There was even talk of John Waters directing a version with Divine starring as Ignatius, but with the drag icon’s death in 1988, that also never came to pass. While other actors – such as Zach Gafilianakis and Will Ferrell – have also been linked to the role in recent years, it remains to be seen whether we’ll ever see a screen version. (Picture: Getty Images) Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
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