List of unproduced film projects based on Marvel Comics

[2] Despite some interest from Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures, budget concerns precluded any production, and with the option scheduled to expire on December 31, 1992, Neue Constantin asked Marvel for an extension.

By this time, the world premiere was announced to take place at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 19, 1994, with proceeds from the event earmarked for the charities Ronald McDonald House and Children's Miracle Network.

Speculation arose that the film had never been intended for release, but had gone into production solely as a way for Eichinger to retain rights to the characters; Stan Lee said in 2005 that this was indeed the case, insisting, "The movie was never supposed to be shown to anybody," and adding that the cast and crew had been left unaware.

In Stevens' story, a corporate scientist intentionally subjects ID-badge photographer Peter Parker to radioactive bombardment, transforming him into a hairy, suicidal, eight-armed monster.

[23][24] Unhappy with this perceived debasement of his comic book creation, Marvel's Stan Lee pushed for a new story and screenplay, written for Cannon by Ted Newsom and John Brancato.

Cohen, creator of TV's Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Forever Knight, added action scenes, a non-canonical comic for the villain, gave Doc Ock the catch phrase, "Okey-dokey", and altered his goal from the Fifth Force to a quest for anti-gravity.

[21] While no casting was finalized, Zito expressed interest in actor/stunt man Scott Leva, who had posed for Cannon's promotional photos and ads, and made public appearances as Spider-Man for Marvel.

The filmmaking cousins parted, Globus remaining associated with Pathé, Golan leaving to run 21st Century Film Corporation, keeping a number of properties (including Spider-Man) in lieu of a cash buy-out.

[28] At Cannes in May 1989, 21st Century announced a September start date, with ads touting the script by "Barney Cohen, Ted Newsom & John Brancato and Joseph Goldman.

"[32] Around 1989, Stan Lee and Chris Claremont entered into talks with Carolco Pictures and Lightstorm Entertainment to make a film adaptation of the X-Men comic book series, with James Cameron as producer, Kathryn Bigelow as director and Gary Goldman as writer.

[53] Screenplay drafts were written by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and David Hayter, and pitted Iron Man against his father Howard Stark, who becomes War Machine.

Instead of Flint Marko's character, Cameron's "Sandman" (simply named Boyd) is mutated by an accident involving Philadelphia Experiment-style bilocation and atom-mixing, in lieu of getting caught in a nuclear blast on a beach.

[61] This treatment reflected elements in previous scripts: from the Stevens treatment, organic web-shooters, and a villain who tempts Spider-Man to join a coming "master race" of mutants; from the original screenplay and rewrite, weird electrical storms causing blackouts, freak magnetic events and bi-location; from the Ethan Wiley draft, a villain addicted to toxic super-powers and multiple experimental spiders, one of which escapes and bites Peter, causing an hallucinatory nightmare invoking Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis; from the Frank LaLoggia script, a blizzard of stolen cash fluttering down onto surprised New Yorkers; and from the Neil Ruttenberg screenplay, a criminal assault on the New York Stock Exchange.

Via a quitclaim from Carolco dated March 28, 1995, MGM acquired 21st Century's film library and assets, and received "...all rights in and to all drafts and versions of the screenplay(s) for Spider-Man written by James Cameron, Ted Newsom & John Brancato, Menahem Golan, Jon [sic] Michael Paul, Ethan Wiley, Leslie Stevens, Frank Laloggia, Neil Ruttenberg, Barney Cohen, Shepard Goldman and any and all other writers.

[83] In May 2000, Marvel Studios brought Artisan Entertainment to co-finance an Iron Fist film,[84] hiring Ray Park to star and John Turman to write the script in January 2001.

[96] In 2009, Marvel announced they had begun hiring a group of writers to help come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, such as Iron Fist, along with others such as Black Panther, Cable, Doctor Strange, Nighthawk, and Vision.

[174] A different film adaptation of Luke Cage had been in development since 2003 by Columbia Pictures, with a screenplay penned by Ben Ramsey, Avi Arad serving as producer[175] and John Singleton directing.

Jamie Foxx[176] and Tyrese Gibson were considered for the lead role,[177] while Dwayne Johnson,[178] Isaiah Mustafa[179] and Idris Elba[180][181] expressed interest in playing Luke Cage.

[186] By July 2008, Sony Pictures was actively developing Venom alongside direct sequels to Spider-Man 3, hoping the character could "add longevity" to the franchise in a similar fashion to Wolverine in 20th Century Fox's X-Men films.

[197] That June, Arad and fellow producer Matt Tolmach discussed Venom connecting to The Amazing Spider-Man, after comparisons to the Marvel Cinematic Universe films crossing over in The Avengers (2012).

"[198] In December 2013, Sony revealed plans to use The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) to establish their own expanded universe based on the Marvel properties the studio had the film rights to, including Venom.

[238] On July 18, 2014, Kevin Feige told IGN in an interview that the Namor film rights were not with Universal and Legendary Pictures, but he explained that there were a number of contracts and deals that needed to be sorted out.

However, Edward Norton rewrote Penn's script after he signed on to star, retelling the origin story in flashbacks and revelations, to help in establishing the film as a reboot; director Louis Leterrier agreed with this approach.

[254] When Kevin Feige announced the Phase Three slate in October 2014, he said the studio retained the script and that Runaways was discussed for upcoming films and television projects, but noted that they could not make all of them.

[258] Partial footage for a Groot and Rocket Raccoon episode was shot, and shown at San Diego Comic Con, with a role for Alan Tudyk also written into the short by Gunn.

[262] Later that month, it was reported that Destin Daniel Cretton would serve as The Kang Dynasty's director after previously working with Marvel Studios on the Phase Four film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).

[263] In September 2022, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) screenwriter Jeff Loveness, was hired to pen the film following his work on conceiving the MCU's adaptation of Kang the Conqueror played by Jonathan Majors.

[264] Both The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars were initially set for theatrical releases on May 2, 2025, and November 7, 2025, respectively, but were subsequently delayed to new dates on May 1, 2026, and May 7, 2027, due to progress on both screenplays being indefinitely halted by the ongoing 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.

[267] The next month, Majors was found guilty of third-degree assault and harassment in a final court verdict, prompting Disney and Marvel to sever ties with the actor, with plans to retitle and pivot the fifth Avengers film being publicly announced the following March.

[270] Responding to the announcement, Jonathan Majors said he was "heartbroken" to learn of the films moving forward with Doctor Doom over his character, and added he would be open to returning to the MCU if offered.