During his long career, British filmmaker Kenneth Branagh has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction.
On December 21, 1998, Branagh was set to star in and direct The Betty Schimmel Story, a biopic about Robert Schimmel’s parents survival during the Holocaust, with Ivan Fila and Greg Poirier writing the screenplay, Wendy Finerman and Agi Orsi producing the film, and DreamWorks Pictures set to distribute the movie, but never materalized.
[10] On April 3, 2018, Branagh was set to star in and produce the television series adaptation of Amor Towles’ novel A Gentleman in Moscow, which became the miniseries of the same name by Paramount+ with Showtime.
[11] On March 10, 2021, Branagh was set to direct a biopic about the Bee Gees for Paramount Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, with Ben Elton writing the screenplay and Barry Gibb serving as executive producer.
[12] On March 30, 2022, it was announced that Branagh had departed the project due to scheduling conflicts with the awards campaign for Belfast, and that John Carney was now set to direct with John Logan writing the screenplay; on December 8, it was announced that Carney had also departed the project due to scheduling conflicts, with Lorene Scafaria set to take over as director.