Since the rise of superheroes in the 2000s, some incredible directors have made movies based on Marvel superheroes. Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, acclaimed filmmakers like Sam Raimi and Ang Lee delved into the world of Marvel superheroes. The MCU has managed to get respected directors like Ryan Coogler, James Gunn, Chloé Zhao and Taika Waititi to make superhero movies.
But what about the filmmakers who almost directed Marvel superhero movies? It was recently announced after a year of work on Sheet, director Bassam Tariq had quit the project. This also follows recent departures such as the departure of Jon Watts Fantastic four after being announced in 2020. This is not uncommon when making big budget movies, as directors are attached to projects and leave due to scheduling conflicts, creative disagreements, or simply wanting to take different paths. But it seems to happen a lot with Marvel, meaning there’s a lot of potential “what if?” movies that might (maybe a season of) What if…? should be dedicated to them).
While there have been plenty of talks in the development phase, as Sony wants Spike Lee to direct night watch or Guillermo Del Toro with a pitch for Doctor Strange, those were just early discussions that never materialized again. Still, there were plenty of directors who actually signed up to direct Marvel movies and then dropped out. Check out Marvel movies that could be.
James Cameron – X-Men and Spider Man
The legendary James Cameron is one of the most successful and celebrated directors still working, and every project he’s associated with draws attention. Before the MCU, and long before Marvel superheroes were considered a profitable movie item, Cameron saw the potential in the characters. Cameron first started developing a X-Men movie in 1989 with Carolco Pictures, but it fell apart when Stan Lee Cameron became interested in Spider-Man.
Cameron prescribed a 57-page treatment Spider Man that told Peter Parker’s parentage, featured Sandman and Electro as the main villains, and featured a climactic battle atop the World Trade Center with Peter Parker revealing his identity to Mary Jane at the end. The project stalled due to rights issues and Cameron went on to direct True Lies. While many of his ideas, such as a sex scene between Peter and Mary Jane, were dropped, other elements of his script ended up in the 2002 Sam Raimi Spider Man film, especially the organic web shooters.
Matthew Vaughn – X-Men: The Last Stand
Matthew Vaughn Ended Up Directing A Marvel Movie With 2011’s X-Men: First Class but it wasn’t his first encounter with the merry mutants. After directing both X-Men and X2: X-Men UnitedBryan Singer left the franchise to direct Superman is coming back for Warner Bros. 20th Century Fox has set a May 2006 release date for: X-Men: The Last Stand before they even had a director, and in 2005 Matthew hired Vaughn for his debut film jerking. Vaughn developed X-Men: The Last Stand for three months and cast Kelsey Grammer as Beast, Dania Ramirez as Callisto and Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut before finally leaving the project in June 2005.
At the time, Vaughn said it was due to family issues, but the director would later reveal that he was leaving because he didn’t think he had enough time to develop the film properly in the short amount of time Fox gave him (he would have a similar short window when creating X-Men: First Class). Vaughn was replaced by Brett Ratner, and filming began two months later. X-Men: The Last Stand was seen as a big step back in the franchise and many have wondered how the franchise would have changed if Vaughn had directed the third X-Men movie.
Patty Jenkins- Thor: The Dark World
Before the cinematic incarnation of Wonder Woman for the DCEU in 2017, she almost worked for Marvel Studios. In October 2011, Jenkins signed to direct Thor: The Dark World but would later retire, just two months later, in December 2011. Jenkins cited creative differences between her and Marvel Studios, as she wanted to make more of a romantic film that focused on the relationship between Thor and Jane Foster. Jenkins didn’t think she could make a good movie out of the script Marvel gave her and knew that if the movie was a disappointment, it would all be credited to her.
Shortly after, Jenkins was replaced by Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor. Thor: The Dark World is now often cited as the weakest entry in the MCU, and Jenkins would later direct the successful Wonder Woman film. You may wonder how different both the MCU and the DCEU would have been if Jenkins had stayed to direct Thor: The Dark World.
Darren Aronofsky – the glutton
After the critical disappointment of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, both Hugh Jackman and 20th Century Fox wanted to court an acclaimed director for a new Wolverine movie to get the franchise back on track. In 2010, the studio hired acclaimed filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, who was known for his critically acclaimed film Requiem for a dream and had worked with Jackman on The fountain. Aronofsky had previously tried to direct Batman: the first year at Warner Bros. before the studio switched to Christopher Nolan Batman Begins and Jackman even offered him the direction of the performance X-Men: The Last Stand, so it seemed that Aronofsky had a deep desire to direct a superhero movie.
Aronofsky later quit filming in March 2011, due to a combination of a year of not wanting to be away from his family and the then-recent 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that wreaked havoc on Japan, where The Wolverine was intended to be filmed. Three months later, James Mangold signed on to direct The Wolverine and would later direct the next Wolverine movie Logan in 2017.
Gina Prince Bythewood – silver black
Sony tried to create its own cinematic universe of characters based on various Spider-Man villains and supporting characters. Projects like venom and morbius made it to the big screen, but one idea that never got off the ground in the beginning was: silver black. Pitched as a team-up film between the characters Black Cat and Felicia Hardy, the film began development in 2014, shortly after its mediocre box office performance. The Amazing Spider Man 2. In 2017, it was announced that Gina Prince-Bythewood would direct the film.
The film was scheduled for release on February 8, 2019, with shooting set to begin in March 2018. But just a month before production, and with no cast, the film was delayed because Prince-Bythewood was unhappy with the script. The film was removed from Sony’s schedule, and Prince-Bythewood later went on to direct the pilot for the Freeform Marvel series. Cloak and dagger and then The old guard. silver black has been indifferently shelved in favor of movies like Kraven the hunter and Madame Web.
Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman and Gore Verbinski – Gambit
Gambit is one of the most talked-about superhero movies that will never happen. Still, it managed to land three great directors over the course of its long development. A solo film based on the popular X-Men character Gambit, the film was a passion project for star Channing Tatum, who would play the main character and was signed on as a producer. In June 2015, Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) signed to direct, but dropped out in September 2015.
A few months later, in November 2015, Doug Liman (Bourne’s Identity) was signed up to direct Gambit but later stopped in August 2016 to work on Justice League Dark at Warner Bros. The film would have no director for a year until October 2017, when Gore Verbinski (de pirates of the caribbean trilogy), but then left in January 2018 due to scheduling issues. At this point, the Gambit movie was dead as 20th Century Fox was about to be acquired by Disney and all X-Men projects were scrapped in favor of including the characters in the MCU. Any of these directors who brought Gambit to life would have been worth watching, and audiences never got to see any of it.
Edgar Wright- ant man
May 23, 2014, is a date Marvel would probably like to be remembered as the opening day of X-Men: Days of Future Past, but for so many it refers to the sad day Edgar Wright announced he would no longer direct ant man. The news was shocking because Wright was teasing ant man for nearly a decade and had been a regular feature at Comic-Cons, even showing the first test footage for the character in 2013. Wright had developed an Ant-Man movie before the MCU was even conceived, bringing the idea back in. 2003. When Marvel Studios announced they were developing their own films, they let Edgar Wright direct ant man with the plan to have the character be an early Phase 1 movie.
Wright would later be busy with other projects such as Scott pilgrim against the world and The end of the world, but Marvel Studios didn’t pressure him, as they were more focused on launching their various Avengers heroes and Guardians of the Universe. ant man was finally planning to join the MCU in 2015, and the years of waiting would be worth it, as Wright was finally on the cusp of delivering a very different type of superhero movie. Casting was underway and filming was about to begin, but behind the scenes, conflict arose between Wright and the Marvel Studios creative committee, who ordered the script to be rewritten without Wright’s knowledge. Wright left and said he wanted to make a Marvel movie, but it didn’t seem like the studio wanted to make an Edgar Wright movie.
Peyton Reed later stepped in to take over the film and has remained in the series ever since, directing the 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp and the next 2023 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Meanwhile, Wright went on to direct 2017 baby driver and those of 2021 Last night in Soho. While the ant man movies sure are fun, any fan has probably wondered what the movie could have been if Edgar Wright had directed it, and would his creative energy have influenced later MCU movies? While the breakup was certainly a messy one, Wright revealed that he and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige have since buried the hatchet, but it seems Wright still hasn’t seen it. ant man.