10 Unrealized J.J. Abrams Projects We Want To See

While it was his reboots of theStar TrekandStar Warsfranchises , as well as his use of the crystalline lens flare technique and his taste to hide his movies in closed book , thatmade J.J. Abrams a star , he ’s been work in the film industriousness for over three ten . As a young man , he was noticed by Steven Spielberg , who took him under his wing . In all that clip , he ’s attach himself to a bunch of film and TV projects that have n’t made it past the script stage or the concept prowess stage .

Collider

This was a “ full-grown sci - fi ” project announced a few years ago that J.J. Abrams was working on withShaun of the Deaddirector Edgar Wright . Nothing was known about the plot of the project – just that it was going to be a “ big sci - fi ” movie . However , as often happens with projects that have one or more in - need person attach , the two filmmakers ’ schedules became too feverish to hold a “ big sci - fi ” movie . Wright went on to write and directBaby Driver , while Abrams became the mastermind behind Disney ’s $ 4 billion law of continuation of theStar Warssaga . Mark Protosevich , one of the writer ofI Am LegendandThor , had been crop on a script .

7 Minutes in Heaven

This tantalizing thriller based on the classic gamey school day pursuit was declare a few years back to be produced by J.J. Abrams and point by his frequent collaborator Jack Bender . In it , a pair of kids would go into a closet , and when they came out seven minute later , everyone else at the party would be dead . So , it would be a slasher movie where all the murders take place off - filmdom in seven minute . That might have been why it failed to get off the dry land . Where does the script go from there ? That will be the snag the writers hit . It seems to have inspiredTruth or Dare , another high - construct repugnance movie based on something typical stripling do , but that seems to have been develop separately . Either way , nothing has been annunciate about the undertaking ever since .

Half-Life

A few year back , Bad Robot announce a partnership with Valve whereby they would collaborate on an original television biz and some movie adaption of Valve property . One of those adjustment wasHalf - Life , the story of a physicist fending off an alien intrusion . Abrams say , “ There ’s an idea we have for a game that we ’d like to work with Valve on . ”

Valve ’s Gabe Newell said , “ We ’re going to forecast out if we can make aPortalmovie orHalf - Lifemovie together . ” Despite Abrams ’ feverish schedule , he said in 2016 that he was still committed to target aHalf - Lifemovie one day , but there ’s been no progress with the labor since then .

All I’ve Got

In 2013 , when Ron Howard was hot off the F1 dramaRush , J.J. Abrams hired him to direct a Hollywood remaking of the Israeli made - for - boob tube movieKol Ma She’Yesh Lithat would be calledAll I ’ve Got . It was a heartfelt fantasy tarradiddle described as “ equal partsThe Notebookand Albert Brooks’Defending Your sprightliness . ” The original TV film was indite by the same team who total up with the data formatting that was finally make over by HBO asIn Treatment . The pic ’s narration flits between life and death in a mystifying , complex , experiential path , sort of likeThe endearing Bones . It would ’ve been interesting if it actually happened .

Samurai Jack

At one point , J.J. Abrams was acquire a movie adaptation of Genndy Tartakovsky ’s recreate seriesSamurai Jack . Before Abrams came on board , there was talk of Cartoon web do a live - action movie based on the series , but that ’s not whatSamurai Jackis . Tartakovsky and Abrams were on the same Thomas Nelson Page in wanting todo the movie in the same style of 2D animation as the series , despite the fact that ’s not the trend in plastic film animation properly now . However , it never materialized . In 2017,the series was convey back for a fifth seasonin position of a motion picture adaptation .

Mystery on Fifth Avenue

start in 2008 , J.J. Abrams was develop a movie base on a New York Times article entitled “ Mystery on Fifth Avenue . ” It was the story of a family who bought a renovate luxury apartment and fall upon an elaborated enigma hidden within its wall . There were secret panels and hidden rooms and puzzles and conundrum . Architect Eric Clough had left the mystery there completely without the syndicate ’s knowledge and it took them months to decrypt it all . Comedy writers and real - life hook up with couple Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky were working on a screenplay at one point , but as of yet , nothing has fare of this curious project .

Micronauts

At one stage , J.J. Abrams was grow a movie based on the Micronauts line of toys and comic books . Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese , the writing duo behindZombielandandG.I. Joe : Retaliation(who would go on to publish theDeadpoolmovies with Ryan Reynolds ) , were employ to work on the playscript . Wernick said , “ We ’ve written a twain of drafts ofMicronautsand it ’s in the Paramount system now . We developed it with Bad Robot , and it ’s probably not what you might guess a Micronauts motion-picture show to be . It departs from the laughable wildly , so if you hope it ’s loyal to the comedian , you ’ll be disappointed in that particular sensory faculty . However , it ’s very , very different and very , very nerveless . ”

Hot for Teacher

J.J. Abrams does n’t ordinarily get involved with comedies , especially the radius - tell on funniness ilk ofSuperbadorWedding Crashers , but he ’s been trying to getHot for instructor – presumably named after the Van Halen vocal – off the earth for a while now . It ’s an ‘ 80s - stylus sex romp about a teen who is set to kip with his attractive instructor .

The movies of that era , likePorky’sandFast Times at Ridgemont High , are implausibly date now , but this would hopefully be a mod variation that reflects the raunchy humor of those movies , albeit riddle with today ’s reform-minded and inclusive gender government .

Star Trek 3

J.J. Abrams directed twoStar Trekmovies , bring together a fantastic cast , breathed newfangled sprightliness into a buy the farm enfranchisement , and then jumped ship when he was declare oneself aStar Warsmovie . If Disney had n’t acquired Lucasfilm , or if they had n’t offered the motion-picture show to Abrams , we would ’ve get to see his vision for the third picture in the reboot franchise , and that would ’ve been interesting . Abrams was supplant by Justin Lin , whoessentially killed the franchisewith an overly inner circle , overly comedic , not veryStar Trek - ythreequel . Abrams did a large Book of Job of compound the plot and character arcs of a classicStar Trekepisode with the huge set piece of blockbuster movie theater in a fashion that Lin did n’t .

Superman: Flyby

After four movies , theSupermanfilm franchise hit a hitch . What take off off with a couple of revolutionary blockbuster directed by Richard Donner that changed the face of cinema had degenerate into a schlocky , mistaken tall mallow - fest . J.J. Abrams was hired to write a script for a fifth movie calledSuperman : Flyby . Various managing director circled the project , include McG and Brett Ratner ( although the latter wo n’t be organize anything any time soon afterhis sexual misconduct was expose in the # MeToo apparent movement ) , but Abrams really wanted to lead the film himself . In the end , it did n’t hap at all andSuperman Returnswith Brandon Routh happened rather .