These sequels, remakes, and adaptations have been stuck in development hell for decades. From a follow-up to the cult classic Event Horizon, to the long-heralded fifth Alien film, along with some classic novels Hollywood has struggled to adapt, let’s take a closer look at some potentially great films that have never materialized.
Hollywood is more obsessed with revisiting and rebooting familiar IP than ever. Yet some iconic properties are harder to revisit than others. And some books seem destined for the screen, but take forever to get there.
The projects below have all been suffering on the shelf for decades, waiting for the stars to align.
Event Horizon
The ’90s Horror Classic Is Overdue For A Cinematic Sequel
1997’s Event Horizon disturbingly mixes sci-fi supernatural and supernatural horror. Neither audiences nor critics fully got the movie upon its release. Despite its initial critical and commercial failure, the film subsequently found its audience on VHS and became a cult classic. Fan appeals for a follow-up started in the early 2000s, but a cinematic sequel has never materialized.
In 2025, Event Horizon finally returned…in comic book form. The prequel series Dark Descent answers many of the movie’s lingering questions, while the upcoming Inferno miniseries is the true sequel fans have wanted for decades. As for the screen, an Event Horizon TV series is reportedly still in development.
The last update on that project came in 2024, when attached director Adam Wingard noted that his current work on Godzilla has held up Event Horizon. Meaning it is years out, even if the show does materialize, and whether it would be a prequel, sequel, reboot, or something else is still unclear.
Alien 5
The Classic Sci-Fi Franchise Has Been Teasing Ripley’s Return For Decades
Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the xenomorph from Alien 1979Custom image by Yeider Chacon
The fourth Alien film, Resurrection, is nearing its 30th anniversary. That means, for three decades, fans have been asking if Sigourney Weaver’s protagonist Ellen Ripley would return for at least one more cinematic showdown with the Xenomorph. And the answer has never been a hard “no.” In fact, several times, it has almost been a “yes.”
Alien 5 has been teased at least once every five years or so since the ’90s. Both OG Alien filmmaker Ridley Scott and Aliens director James Cameron have, at different times, considered teaming up with Weaver for another installment. Names like Joss Whedon and Neil Blomkamp have been attached to Alien 5 in various capacities over the years.
Yet the movie has never gotten off the ground, and the franchise has gone in very different directions. Scott made his pair of prequel films, Alien: Romulus is set between the first two films, and the current Alien: Earth TV series is a prequel. It’s not too late for a true Alien 5, but the window is certainly closing.
Small Soldiers
An Ahead-Of-Its-Time ’90s Classic That Is Stuck On The Shelf
Despite what the haters say, Small Soldiers might actually be director Joe Dante’s masterpiece, but it can’t compete with his earlier Gremlins films in terms of pop culture cache. Gremlins 3 is another long-gestating sequel that could be on this list, but while that might actually be closer than ever to happening, a Small Soldiers remake seems to be on the shelf indefinitely.
A remake of the 1998 action comedy, in which sentient toy soldiers wage war on a human family, was reportedly in development about ten years ago, under the title Toymageddon. Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox killed the project in 2019, and there’s been no movement on updating Small Soldiers since.
Which is a missed opportunity, because Small Soldiers’ farcical premise belies a cautionary tale about misappropriated technology and artificial intelligence. From both a story and marketing perspective, Small Soldiers was almost designed to be franchised, offering all kinds of opportunities for sequels, spin-offs, and merchandise. Yet 28 years later, it remains nothing more than a niche nostalgic favorite for ’90s kids.
Escape From New York
No One Wants To Mess Up John Carpenter’s ’80 Action Epic
Escape From New York exemplifies filmmaker John Carpenter’s career. It is a B-movie masterpiece, like most of Carpenter’s films. That is, its low budget aesthetic is a feature, not a bug. At least, for Escape’s legions of fans. Yet there are certainly people the movie’s look and feel does bug, who think “this could be done so much better today.”
A remake of the 45-year-old movie has been in development off-and-on for almost two decades. What has been the hold-up? Consider the 2012 Total Recall and 2014 Robocop remakes. Both of these projects were in the same category as Escape: considered untouchable by some, and a tantalizing prospect for updating by others.
Both of those movies failed to live up to the originals. It’s fair to speculate that could have had a behind-the-scenes impact on Escape From New York’s development. In 2015, New Line Cinema sold the remake rights to Fox, meaning they’re now held by Disney. A legacy sequel is reportedly in development in lieu of a remake, but the last update came in 2022.
Blood Meridian
Cormac McCarthy’s Greatest Novel Is His Hardest To Adapt
Cropped image of one of the many cover art pieces for Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, featuring the title of the book floating amid the plains in the Western frontier.
In the early 2000s, author Cormac McCarthy started writing with the screen in mind. Up to that point, only one of his most conventional novels, All the Pretty Horses, had been adapted. McCarthy published No Country for Old Men in 2005, and The Road in 2006. Critically acclaimed film versions of these novels hit theaters quickly, in 2007 and 2009, respectively.
Yet to reference an earlier master of American fiction, the “white whale” of McCarthy’s career has long eluded the screen. That is his 1985 western Blood Meridian, which for decades was considered practically unadaptable. Today it seems much more feasible as a film, or a TV series, but before he passed away, McCarthy reportedly nixed a miniseries version.
John Hillcoat, director of The Road, is reportedly still working on bringing Blood Meridian to the screen. It remains a difficult story to adapt for many reasons, and as such, it is necessary for Hillcoat to balance a patient approach with the urgency of wanting to finally bring McCarthy’s greatest novel to life.
Hyperion
This Sci-Fi Masterpiece Has Taken The Long Route To The Screen
Hyperion book covers
Author Dan Simmons published Hyperion in 1989 to widespread acclaim. Several sequels followed; known together as The Hyperion Cantos, the series is considered one of the GOATs of modern science fiction. Interest in a screen adaptation of Simmons’ books picked up around 2009, but it has languished in development hell since then.
After a film version fell through circa 2010, things went quiet for a few years. In 2015, Syfy Channel announced that it was working on a miniseries version of Hyperion. That didn’t make it far, and progress went dormant again. In 2021, Warner Brothers renewed its plans for a Hyperion movie, with Bradley Cooper attached.
Development seems to have stalled since then, but Cooper’s attachment is a sign of hope. He has reportedly been involved with trying to make Hyperion happen since 2011. That said, it’s a long way off for now, if it does ever happen. For betting aficionados, the odds are audiences get an Event Horizon sequel before Hyperion, but Hyperion before Alien 5.