Yahoo News Steven Spielberg’s Unmade Movies: 10 Films the Oscar Winner Came Close to Directing
Steven Spielberg’s unprecedented five-decade stint at the apex of Hollywood owes as much to his versatility as his filmmaking talents. Since bursting onto the scene with “The Sugarland Express” in 1974, the director has proven himself capable of working in nearly every genre imaginable, oftentimes in the same year.
After helping to create the modern summer blockbuster with early hits like “Jaws” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” Spielberg never rested on his laurels. He spent the 1980s alternating between family hits, like “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial,” and more dramatic fare, such as “The Color Purple,” while still finding time to direct the original “Indiana Jones” trilogy.
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The most legendary example of Spielberg’s omnivorous approach to filmmaking came in 1993, when he managed to release “Jurassic Park” and “Schindler’s List” in the same year. The summer dinosaur flick became a cultural phenomenon and introduced the world to the miracles that could be accomplished with CGI technology. “Schindler’s List” could not have been more different, shedding light on the horrors of the Holocaust with Spielberg’s signature cinematic perspective. That film landed Spielberg the last major filmmaking accomplishment that had evaded him to that point: an Oscar win for Best Director.
For the next 30 years, Spielberg continued to surprise audiences with his directorial choices. He’s worked on everything from war epics (“Saving Private Ryan”) and heist movies (“Catch Me If You Can”) to animated blockbusters (“The Adventures of Tintin”) and musicals (“West Side Story”). He even found time to write and direct his own biopic when he made “The Fabelmans” in 2021.
The list of movies that he almost directed is equally eclectic. Spielberg has come close to making movies about many of America’s most beloved intellectual properties and historical figures that never materialized for a variety of reasons. Some of his ideas never reached the silver screen due to disputes over film rights, and other times he handed his projects over to other filmmakers while continuing to oversee them as a producer. His impact on pop culture has been so large that reading about his unmade projects feels like a walk through an alternative film industry that would have existed if he made a few different choices.
Keep reading for a list of ten films that Spielberg developed but never directed. Also check out, IndieWire’s guide to Spielberg’s 25 favorite movies.
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