10 Upcoming Movies That Are Already Doomed
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00:00Making even the least ambitious movie is incredibly difficult, and it's frankly a miracle that
00:05any works of cinema get nudged over the finish line, especially with the precarious state
00:10of the film industry today. But not all movies can be great or even good, and sometimes the
00:15writing is unmistakably on the wall long before they actually come out. Hell, the doom might
00:20even be clear before a single frame of footage has actually been shot.
00:24And with that in mind, the following movies all have a certain amount of potential on
00:28paper, but when it comes to delivering a quality end product, it sadly doesn't seem terribly
00:34likely. I'm Ellie for WhatCulture, and these are 10 Upcoming Movies That Are Already Doomed.
00:3910. Blade
00:41It's becoming increasingly difficult not to accept that the Marvel Cinematic Universe's
00:45Blade movie is absolutely cursed. At 2019's San Diego Comic-Con, Blade was first announced
00:52with Mahershala Ali confirmed to play the Daywalker. But more than five years later,
00:57and shooting still hasn't started. Since 2019, the project has burned through six writers
01:02and two directors, with the director's chair currently vacant. Reports indicate that the
01:07various writers have struggled to come up with an agreeable script, and that star Ali
01:12has grown frustrated with the protracted process, enough that speculation even loomed that he
01:17might himself exit the project. Given that Ali is already 50 years of age,
01:22almost a decade older than predecessor Wesley Snipes was when he hung up the fangs, and
01:27the part naturally requires a physically spry actor, fans are understandably concerned that
01:32the time window for this version of the movie may be closing.
01:36And even if it is eventually shot, Blade has a massive tidal wave of negative PR to combat,
01:42considering that many fans have basically written it off already.
01:459. Horizon and American Saga Chapters 2-4
01:49Kevin Costner's four-part Western saga Horizon is nothing if not a laudably ambitious project,
01:55albeit one that also faces a steep climb to completion, let alone actual success.
02:00The recently released first part was a colossal box office flop, failing to even recoup its
02:05$50 million budget. It's a particularly awkward outcome given that Chapter 2 has already been
02:11shot and Chapter 3 partially filmed, with Costner investing $38 million of his own money
02:17into the franchise. Plus, with Chapter 2's intended August release date recently being
02:21scrapped and no guarantee that the concluding fourth movie will ever be made,
02:25Costner finds himself rallying for an enterprise whose commercial prospects seem incredibly dim.
02:31Horizon could be rescued by strong VOD sales or Netflix's rumoured attempt to acquire it,
02:37but if Costner is hellbent on keeping Horizon a theatrical movie experience,
02:41it seems destined to bomb four times in a row, if it ever gets that far.
02:458. Borderlands
02:47As video game adaptations go, Borderlands actually seems pretty ripe for the splashy
02:52big screen treatment. But its road to our eyeballs has been fraught, to say the least.
02:57The impressively star-studded blockbuster began shooting in April 2021 under Eli Roth and wrapped
03:03that June, after which fans heard suspiciously little about it for around 18 months. Then,
03:09in January 2023, it was reported that the film was undergoing extensive reshoots following
03:15poor test screenings, and due to Roth being busy with his slasher film Thanksgiving,
03:20Deadpool director Tim Miller oversaw the additional photography.
03:23Worse still, writer Craig Mazin had his name quietly removed from the film the same year,
03:29and by the time Borderlands was finally in the can, seven other screenwriters had various credits on
03:35it. Even accepting that the trailers don't look awful, screening reports continue to paint a
03:40bleak picture alongside anemic box office tracking, suggesting this one is basically
03:45being dumped this summer by Lionsgate. 7. Megalopolis
03:49Francis Ford Coppola's decades-gestating sci-fi fantasy film Megalopolis finally
03:54premiered at Cannes back in May, where it received wildly mixed reviews,
03:59which certainly didn't help his efforts to find a distributor for the unconventional epic.
04:03Lionsgate eventually signed on to distribute the film once Coppola agreed to pay all marketing
04:08costs himself, but given that the $120 million tentpole has virtually no chance of turning a
04:14profit due to its niche subject matter, it's basically a money pit already.
04:19Granted, you can argue that the 85-year-old Coppola succeeded simply by making the film
04:24and releasing it, but given that both critical and commercial success seem to be eluding what
04:29will probably be his final ever movie, it sure must sting.
04:33Quite what Megalopolis' long-term legacy will be, of course, remains to be seen,
04:38but for the filmmaker behind The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and so many other classics,
04:43to go out with a lukewarm effort will be disheartening to many.
04:476. Mission Impossible VIII
04:49The currently untitled VIII Mission Impossible film has been shooting since March 2022,
04:55and still hasn't wrapped. Even accepting the Hollywood strikes,
04:58that's virtually unprecedented in the industry, and it indicates a film that's likely heading
05:03to be one of the most expensive blockbusters ever produced. This is backed up by recent scuttlebutt
05:09that Mission Impossible VIII's budget is closing in on $400 million.
05:14That's an eye-watering figure even for a franchise this well-regarded.
05:18But considering that last year's Dead Reckoning Part 1 ended up underperforming at the box office,
05:24in large part due to Barbenheimer's multiplex dominance,
05:27it's tough not to fear for this sequel's ability to recoup its hefty costs.
05:32With Paramount reportedly scrapping the Dead Reckoning Part 2 title following Part 1's
05:37disappointing commercial showing, there's clearly concern about the series' financial
05:41viability moving forward, even with this possibly being Cruise's final outing as Ethan Hunt.
05:46While there's every possibility that Mission Impossible VIII is at least a very good movie,
05:51it's tough to see a path to profitability, and given the countless roadblocks that have
05:55been thrown up throughout shooting, it's hard not to accept the production is basically cursed.
06:005. The Toxic Avenger Here's a really weird one.
06:04Macon Blair's reimagining of Troma's cult classic 1984 horror comedy The Toxic Avenger
06:09actually premiered at last year's Fantastic Fest to rock-solid reviews,
06:14with most deeming it a worthy contribution to the splatter-happy franchise.
06:18And yet the better part of a year has passed without the film getting much additional festival
06:22play, or better still, a release date. An extremely odd outcome for a well-received
06:27horror flick starring Peter Dinklage, no? But reports emerged recently in which an
06:31industry producer called the film un-releasable theatrically due to its out-there content,
06:37while another producer deemed it not safe enough to market.
06:40Now, while it does seem inevitable that a streaming service like Shudder will pick
06:44The Toxic Avenger up eventually, it is baffling that a decently acclaimed entry into cinema's
06:50most reliably profitable genre has just been sitting collecting dust for almost an entire year.
06:56Sadly, short of Troma's die-hard fans going to bat for it, the film seems highly likely
07:00to quietly join the anonymous abyss of streaming content and be swiftly forgotten.
07:05We can only hope it finds another way through.
07:074. The Apprentice If not quite deemed un-releasable,
07:11Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice is facing one hell of an uphill struggle to get released.
07:16Though the Sebastian Stan-starring drama was broadly well-received following its Cannes
07:20premiere back in May, its depiction of Trump sexually assaulting former wife Ivana Trump
07:25led the Trump camp to threaten legal action, even sending a cease-and-desist letter to the
07:31filmmakers. Though the assault scene was based on a factual deposition from Ivana during divorce
07:36proceedings, the matter became further complicated when it was revealed that one of the film's chief
07:42financiers, billionaire Dan Snyder, was attempting to block its release.
07:47Snyder only helped fund the film amid the belief that it would provide a positive portrayal of
07:52Trump, a personal friend of his, and so is refusing to cooperate with the filmmakers'
07:56attempts to have The Apprentice released before this November's presidential election.
08:01The filmmakers are attempting to buy Snyder out of his stake, but no dice so far.
08:06And considering how long legal matters can drag on,
08:09it's highly likely the film remains stuck in limbo past the election.
08:12And honestly, after November, will anyone really care about The Apprentice?
08:16Even with its negative portrayal of Trump, will many really want to sit through a movie
08:20about his life, especially if he ends up winning the presidency?
08:23Couple all this with the fact that almost every major Hollywood distributor passed
08:27on taking the film, and it's in one hell of a tricky spot.
08:313. Havoc
08:32It's always concerning when a film spends many years in post-production,
08:36especially if it's not a $200 million blockbuster and hasn't released a single trailer.
08:41And that's unfortunately the case with Havoc,
08:43the new Tom Hardy-starring action thriller from The Raid director Gareth Evans.
08:48Havoc completed principal photography way back in October 2021, and since then we've
08:53only seen a single promotional image from the movie, with a trailer still eluding fans.
08:59Given that Evans discussed the need for reshoots in late 2022,
09:03and then went radio silent on the matter for a long time,
09:06there was a lot of negative buzz that the project was in trouble and not coming together as intended.
09:11The film did, however, finally get its first substantial update in over 18 months recently,
09:17with Evans confirming that reshoots were underway to complete it,
09:21while implying that scheduling issues and industry strikes were a major cause of the delays.
09:25A 2025 release is reportedly on the cards, potentially marking almost
09:30four years between its first day of shooting and eventual release.
09:34Now, it's certainly possible that Evans is simply taking the time to get things right,
09:38but let's be honest, how many films delayed this long actually live up to expectations?
09:43Well, here's hoping that Havoc is the exception that proves the rule wrong.
09:462. Hellboy the Crooked Man Hellboy the Crooked Man marks Hollywood's
09:51third attempt to adapt the Hellboy comics into a cinematic franchise,
09:56following Guillermo del Toro's solid Ron Perlman-starring duology
10:00and 2019's disappointing David Harbour-led reboot.
10:03But this new take from Crank director Brian Taylor can't help but invite basement low
10:08expectations, given both the evident low budget indicated by its trailer,
10:12and especially the unconvincing make-up job applied to new lead Jack Kessie.
10:17And even if it manages to be an entertainingly scrappy effort relative to its budget,
10:21the Crooked Man is destined to be endlessly compared to del Toro's lavish,
10:26beautifully produced big-budget efforts.
10:28The knives are already out for this one, with many negatively comparing its production values
10:33to a not-for-profit fan film, so its marketing campaign will need to work overtime to persuade
10:38otherwise. Whether it will even get a major theatrical release or just be rushed to
10:42streaming, however, is another question altogether.
10:451. Saving Bikini Bottom – The Sandy Cheeks Movie
10:49Saving Bikini Bottom – The Sandy Cheeks Movie is the first in a series of planned
10:53spin-off movies centred around Spongebob Squarepants' sidekicks.
10:57The mere existence of any spin-off films is considerably contentious among the Spongebob
11:02fandom due to creator Steven Hillenburg's unwillingness to produce them during his
11:07lifetime. Yet, shortly following Hillenburg's passing in 2018, Nickelodeon began to ramp
11:12up production on peripheral Spongebob content. That's just the start of this movie's
11:17problems, though. A full HD copy of The Sandy Cheeks Movie ended up being leaked online
11:22back in January, more than six months before its intended release on Netflix.
11:26And to make matters worse, the response from those fans who dared to watch it illegally
11:32was not great, ensuring the well-of-fan reception was poisoned long before its
11:37actual legitimate release. It certainly doesn't signal a great start for the
11:41industrious glut of spin-offs that Nickelodeon has planned for the franchise.