Lost, abandoned and unreleased movies you'll (probably) never see

Filmmaking is a difficult, time-consuming, and expensive endeavor, and countless problems can arise throughout the complex process. Even after the entire filmmaking process is complete—including writing, planning, shooting, and editing—many factors can still prevent a film from ever reaching an audience.

As a result, there are films that are completed but that audiences will never see, or be able to see again. Some films are lost, some were never truly finished, and some are deliberately shelved for various reasons. Here are some movies that might have been great, but you may never get to see.

One reason why films are never released is due to a "tax write-off." This was the fate of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah's 2022 superhero film, Batgirl. The $70 million film starred Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon, Brendan Fraser as the villain Firefly, and Michael Keaton returning as Batman. It was intended for a direct-to-streaming release as a flagship film for HBO Max. However, before the visual effects and reshoots were completed, it was abruptly canceled in August 2022. Allegedly, after the merger of Warner Media and Discovery, there was consideration for a theatrical release for Batgirl with an increased budget and publicity, but then the studio changed its mind, deeming the film looked terrible and ultimately used it as a tax write-off. Warner’s animated live-action hybrid Coyote vs. Acme and Scoob! Holiday Haunt suffered similar fates. While there is a small chance the latter two films might see the light of day, the cost of completing Batgirl makes it unlikely it ever will.

Another infamous "lost" film is comedian Jerry Lewis' Holocaust drama, The Day the Clown Cried. The film tells the story of a clown who is hired by the Nazis to lead children into gas chambers. Those who have seen rough cuts of the film are divided on its artistic merit. Actor Harry Shearer called it "a big mistake," and the film’s co-writer, Joan O'Brien, called it "a disaster," but French critic Jean-Michel Frodon called it "interesting and important." The Day the Clown Cried was filmed in 1972 and scheduled to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival the following year, but O'Brien blocked the release due to her displeasure with Lewis' changes to the script. Due to a mess of film rights, O'Brien had final control, and there was nothing Lewis could do, and the project was shelved. O'Brien died in 2004, but the rights issues were never resolved. Lewis himself disowned the film, stating he was embarrassed by it, but before he died in 2017, he donated the (supposed) final cut of the film to the Library of Congress, stipulating that it could not be screened until 2024. However, it turned out that Lewis' donation was not a finished product, but rather around 90 minutes of raw, unedited footage, 106 minutes of audio, and three hours of behind-the-scenes material, which can now be viewed by appointment at the Library of Congress.

It is rumored that a 75-minute rough cut of the film exists, and perhaps even a complete final version. Whether they ever see the light of day likely depends on whether O'Brien's heirs agree, which seems unlikely given O'Brien's objections. Another unreleased film is All-Star Weekend. The film tells the story of two NBA superfans played by Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Piven, and features cameos from Eva Longoria, Robert Downey Jr., Ken Jeong, Gerard Butler, Benicio del Toro, DJ Khaled, Luenell, and Snoop Dogg. The film, directed by Foxx, was shot in 2016 and completed in 2019, but has been in limbo ever since. The main reason seems to be that Downey, a white actor, plays a Mexican, despite his character reportedly being small. Foxx told Cinema Blend in 2022 that Downey's casting was inspired by the Avengers star’s Oscar-nominated blackface performance in Tropic Thunder, although the satire of Tropic Thunder may not be present in Foxx’s sports movie, in which Foxx also plays a racist white cop. Foxx explained, "We’re trying to break down those sensitive corners, get people to laugh again." Foxx released a trailer for All-Star Weekend last August in the hopes of generating some buzz and securing a distribution deal, but with around 100,000 views, it seems the film will remain shelved forever.

You might think that the presence of legendary actor Marlon Brando in his last big-screen role would be enough to guarantee a film's release, but that was not the case with the animated superhero movie, Big Bug Man. Brando recorded the voice of "Mrs. Sour," in drag and wearing an oxygen mask, from his home three weeks before his death. The only other confirmed actor was Brendan Fraser, who was to play the title character. The film’s release date was pushed back from 2006 to 2008, then to 2010, after which there has been no further news. It is not clear whether the film was ever finished—in fact, it is not clear if any animation was ever completed on the $20 million project (none has surfaced), but around 2010, the film’s production company, Studio-Free Studios, essentially vanished, having not delivered any of the films it promised, including Big Bug Man.

Some long-unreleased films do eventually see the light of day. For example, the low-budget Marvel movie, The Fantastic Four (1994), was shelved due to rights or quality issues (depending on who you believe), but has since found a semi-permanent home online. Other unreleased films can be screened, but only under very controlled conditions. The most extreme example of this is perhaps Robert Frank’s documentary of the Rolling Stones’ 1972 US tour, meant to promote their album, Exile On Main Street. The Rolling Stones gave Frank unrestricted access to the tour, including the parties. The result was a film filled with sex, drugs, and rock and roll—the most notorious scenes included a groupie shooting up heroin, Mick Jagger masturbating in bed, and sex parties on private planes, with band members watching and playing percussion. Jagger reportedly told Frank after seeing the “fly-on-the-wall” footage that he shot: “Robert, this is a very good film, but if it is released in America, we will never be able to enter the country.” The Rolling Stones fought Frank in court to prevent the release of Cocksucker Blues. The court imposed strict conditions on the film’s screening. It could not be screened until after 1979, it could only be screened four times a year, and Frank had to be present. The film also had to begin with a bizarre disclaimer, stating: “Except for the musical sequences, the events depicted in this film are fictional. They do not represent any real people and events.” Frank died in 2019, and the film appears to have been last screened in 2015, although the entire film pops up on YouTube from time to time.

The most expensive film on this list is undoubtedly Deep Sea Empire, a $130 million “massive mess” of a production that has never been released. The film, which blends mermaids, Greek mythology, and giant sea monsters, was the brainchild of Chinese real estate mogul Jiang Hong, a billionaire with zero filmmaking experience, who wanted the film to be China’s answer to Avatar. Despite the huge budget, Olga Kurylenko was the only recognizable star in Deep Sea Empire. The script went through over 40 revisions, including multiple revisions during filming (always a bad sign). There were four directors involved in the production, actors quit, crew members went unpaid, stuntmen were injured, and when a trailer was finally released in 2013, the effects looked like cutscenes from a 90s video game. Reshoots were conducted in 2014, and a second, slightly better trailer was released in 2016, but it seems that there is no money left to polish or promote the film, which is probably for the best.

The debut films of now-iconic directors can give us an insight into their careers. Steven Spielberg’s Duel is a good example, a compelling TV thriller that gained a belated theatrical release due to its excellence, and launched one of the greatest careers in cinema history. But seven years before Duel, a 17-year-old Spielberg made an ambitious 135-minute science-fiction adventure called Firelight. He made the film almost entirely on his own—he is credited as director, writer, cinematographer, editor, and composer—and used local actors and his high school band to bring it to life. The story of strange lights in the sky and alien abductions influenced his later film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but sadly, we may never see his true debut. Firelight was screened once at a theater in his hometown of Phoenix, but shortly after, two of the film reels were given to a producer as a demonstration of Spielberg’s talent. The producer never returned the reels, and their whereabouts remain unknown. A small clip of the film exists online, with patchy audio, but Spielberg is not the only famous director whose debut is likely to remain unseen forever.

Quentin Tarantino’s 1987 debut, My Best Friend’s Birthday, made five years before Reservoir Dogs, was never completed due to some lost film reels. Similarly, Alfred Hitchcock’s first film, Number 13, was also never completed, and the footage that was shot is lost, while his second completed film, The Mountain Eagle, is also lost. Other films you may never get to see include: 100 Years: This Robert Rodriguez short film starring John Malkovich, made to promote French cognac, will be released on November 18, 2115, when the cognac has aged to the appropriate time. If you’re alive in a century, prepare to be disappointed, as it will likely just be a very long cognac ad. The Long Home: This film directed by James Franco was scheduled for release in 2017, but was delayed. Shortly after, Franco became the subject of multiple sexual misconduct allegations, which further shelved it. Given Franco’s recent role as a villain in the Franco-Belgian spy film The Price of Money, there may still be a chance this film could be released. Hippie Hippie Shake: This Working Title production, completed in 2010, tells the story of the 1971 London Oz obscenity trial, and stars Cillian Murphy, Sienna Miller, and Hugh Bonneville. The reasons for the film being shelved are unclear, but financial difficulties at Working Title at the time, legal threats from real-life figures, and expensive reshoots to improve the finished product have all been suggested as possible reasons. Roy del Espacio: This was one of the first feature-length animated films from Mexico, and was declared one of the worst films ever made when it was released in 1983. Despite only being 41 years old, all copies of the film are reportedly lost, meaning no one can relive its poor Flash Gordon impersonations and robot battles. The Farewell Performance: This crime drama is on the British Film Institute (BFI) list of "most wanted" lost films, and tells the story of a disliked pop singer who is murdered. Copies of the film disappeared shortly after its release in 1963, but the BFI is keen to find it due to its musical interludes, including the then-popular British band, The Tornados. Batman Fights Dracula: This unauthorized 1967 Filipino classic is just one of many pop culture works that pit Batman against Transylvania's most famous resident. The film is lost, as is some of Andy Warhol’s 1964 film, Batman Dracula. Is this a conspiracy led by DC Comics? Two Minutes Silence: Paulette and Phyllis McDonagh were pioneering filmmaking sisters in the early days of Australian cinema. This anti-war drama was released in 1933 and is considered their best film, but it is now lost. It was also the last film made by the McDonagh sisters. Its disappointing release led them to retire from filmmaking. Hollywood: This silent-era epic features cameos from around 50 of Hollywood’s biggest stars from around 1923, including Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle, Pola Negri, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford. While this would make it a treasured historical artifact, it is one of an estimated 75% of films from that era that are lost. The Story of the Kelly Gang: This Australian drama was the world’s first feature-length film, premiering in 1906. Only 17 minutes of the film remain.