Superman Lives, Dogma II, And 10 More Movies & TV Shows Kevin Smith Almost Made

Every iconic filmmaker has a ton of projects they never got off the ground, and Kevin Smith is certainly no exception. Of course, there is a vast difference between him and directors like Orson Welles, specifically the fact that the majority of his projects are either low-budget comedies or superhero fare. Still, it can't be denied that Smith is an influential figure that has shaped popular culture through his lengthy filmography.

He also just so happens to have several notable unmade projects under his belt. 

Much like Guillermo del Toro, he's been pretty open about them, resulting in some interesting details coming to light. Here is just a sample of the many projects Smith has wanted to get off the ground, but for one reason or another never could.

This script is a bit of an anomaly on this list, as there isn't a ton known about it other than a few basic facts. Smith had submitted the script, which was commissioned by Universal Pictures, back in 1998. While the original "Six Million Dollar Man" aired on ABC from 1973 to 1978, Universal Television Distribution held the rights to the IP, making it prime real estate for a big screen adaptation.

However, the film never got the green light. TV Series Finale notes Smith as having said at one point that "there was an exec who dismissed it as being more like a comic book than a movie." While various iterations have been in the works over the years, Smith's script did turn into the 2011 Dynamite comic series "The Bionic Man." So, even if things didn't work out exactly as Smith had probably hoped, at least it ended up seeing the light of day in some form.

When you think of unfinished projects, I bet you automatically think of "Superman Lives." After all, how could you not? Its rise and fall are plagued with all sorts of production problems, from combative producers to fluctuating budgets and even giant spiders. However, it is primarily associated with Tim Burton, who was selected as the director of the doomed project. While he was seemingly not considered for the director's seat, Smith did pitch and write the initial script for the film, which he had less-than-fond memories of. Case in point, this stellar recollection of one bizarre demand that producer Jon Peters had for the film as relayed to Mania Movies:

"[He] said, 'That gay Black guy in your movie [Hooper from "Chasing Amy," played by Dwight Ewell] did an excellent job. That's what we need in Superman. [...] We need that kind of attitude, that voice. What about L-Ron [the robotic assistant of villain Brainiac], can't he have a voice like that? Can't he be gay? I want a gay R2D2.'"

So, yeah, we don't have time to unpack that. Anyways, Smith's time with the film only got worse after Wesley Strick, screenwriter of 1992's "Batman Returns," was hired to rewrite his script. It was altered so heavily that Smith was no longer credited as its screenwriter. Of course, this was just one problem among the myriad that plagued "Superman Lives."

The most uncharacteristic project on this list has got to be this unfinished documentary Smith filmed on music icon Prince. The genesis of the project came after the musician refused to give the director the rights to his song, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," for "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." However, he agreed to allow Smith to film some footage at his Paisley Park estate for a week in the hopes of screening something to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

While this sounds like an unprecedented opportunity, Smith recalled that he ended up being duped into making something he had no intention of making. He claimed that the musician, a devout Jehovah's Witness, banned any swearing and insisted that the documentary be so legendary that it would change the world.

"He's like, 'I want you to shoot people's reaction to the album. Let them listen to it and you have them talk about it. And then I want to talk about religion and lead that into race,'" Smith recalled, "'and lead it into the music biz and radio. At the end of the week, I want to change the world.'"

Sounds like a daunting task. To hear about the rest of this bizarre and pretty damn entertaining story, check out his recollection while on tour for "An Evening With Kevin Smith."

With the ongoing animated purges at HBO Max, it's probably for the best that this film was eventually scrapped. However, it still probably would've been cool to see, especially since Patrick O'Brien isn't the most well-utilized superhero in DC history. According to an episode of his "FatMan Beyond" podcast, Smith revealed that he was contracted by DC to write a script for a "Plastic Man" animated movie back in 2017, having found it while going through his laptop files.

"I completely f***ing forgot about it, and they paid me to write it," recalled Smith. "It was with ... Jim Parsons. What a lovely dude, but he was gonna be the voice of Plastic Man."

Obviously, it never wound up getting picked up. While details about why were not revealed on the podcast, it is actually pretty funny to hear Smith admit that he had forgotten about it despite the script being written in recent memory.

Now, this should be a throwback for Gen-Zers everywhere. The "Kingdom Keepers" series of books by Ridley Pearson was a smash success when it began in 2005, spanning 14 books in total. Combining an original story with notable Disney theme parks and IPs, it once seemed extremely likely that a television series, specifically one for the then-upcoming Disney+, could be a success.

So, they attempted to do just that with Smith at the helm. He wrote a script for the pilot in the hopes that the show would be among the first Disney+ originals. Unfortunately, he claimed that the show was scrapped after a new figure was placed in charge of the app (presumably Disney+ CEO Michael Paull). He revealed the reason why it was canceled on Twitter back in 2020, and it was because it would have used too many IPs. 

That's a bit rich, don't you think?

Interested in seeing a long-gestating Kevin Smith project that actually survived development hell? You're in luck, because "Clerks III" hits theaters on September 13, 2022.