The Most Epic Movies Never to be Made

So we all have a few film ideas rolling in our head.  Films we'd like to see made and, if done right, would be great.  Odds are, though, they will never enter production.  As a prospective filmmaker, I have more than a few, and while I'm usually paranoid about sharing my ideas in case I actually get around to making them, here's a few I don't mind letting loose in case someone in Hollywood picks up the baton.  

The Original Batman

Idea: Batman as a period piece
Origins: The original Batman comics that debuted in 1939
Concept:  
A movie where Capone era gangsters still rule the streets in a country recovering from prohibition and the Great Depression.    I'm picturing something of a hard-boiled Dashiell Hammett style mystery, combined with the gangster discourse of characters like the Joker, Two-Face, and of course, Catwoman.  The tone would be very noir.  Batman: Year One would be a heavy influence, with the story perhaps being from Gordon's perspective.  Robin could also enter with more ease due to the less regimented lifestyles of America's youth in those days.  

 

Why Not? 

Period pieces already have inherent high costs due to costuming and production design.  Coupling this with an already expensive franchise like Batman would make the film prohibitively expensive.  There's also the issue of what I'll call "Captain America Syndrome."  Having a lot of Batman's fancy gadgets that he's known for would make it more exciting, but less believable in the time period.  It would be a delicate balancing act of having an exciting and edgy character that could conceivably fit into the period.  

Batman and Robin from the 1943 serial.

Starcraft: Alien vs. Predator

Idea: A Starcraft film based in the Alien/Predator universe
Origins: The Starcraft game by Blizzard, and the Alien and Predator films by 20th Century Fox
Concept:  
I know the AvP film line was a major failure, but hear me out.  Both films lacked a decent story to set up the confrontation between the two forces.  Well, Starcraft has a much richer and more epic mythology behind it that could easily be adapted to the Alien/Predator universe.  What's more, there's enough story to fill multiple films.  The setting would take place in the distant future, after the Ripley Alien series.  Humanity wouldn't be a victimized inferior force, but a major galactic player with its own strengths and weaknesses.  The Predators/Protoss would have kept their distance, but start intervening when the Aliens/Zerg actually get a foothold somewhere and start spreading like locusts.  The Engineers from Prometheus could even be retrofitted as the Xel'Naga, which, in the game, were the creators of the Zerg and Protoss.  The movie would have to alter them to the creators of Humans and Aliens.

Zerg and Aliens have similarities in design and abilities, including 
hive society, parasitism, and acid blood. 

Protoss and Predators are both aliens with advanced technology, 
and with a few detail changes... 

Predatoss, er, Protator.

Why Not?

Too many hurdles.  Starcraft is owned by Blizzard.  Alien and Predator are owned by 20th Century Fox, so both parties would have to be involved in order for the project to even start.  Then Blizzard would have to agree to have their game mythology adapted to fit onto the Alien/Predator universe in addition to actually licensing the film rights.  On top of all that, the studio would have to be persuaded to take another chance on the AvP series and on a video game film, both of which have high failure rates.  

 

The Monster, the Wizard, and the Dream

 Idea: A series of parallel films based on three characters from DC Vertigo
Origins: The Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, and Sandman comic lines
Concept:  
A series of films around the characters Swamp Thing, John Constantine, and The Sandman from the DC Vertigo comics.  The approach would be similar to the current Avengers films by Marvel, albeit with a very different tone and design.  Each character would have their own films series, with some cameos and crossovers from the others and two or three big crossover films.  The three lines compliment each other very well.  Constantine is the human; he smokes, he sleeps around, and he fights demons from Hell.  He's a simple flawed hero to represent humanity.  Swamp Thing is the former human turned monster who the bridges the mortal and the ethereal worlds.  He's more of a tragic hero who has to find the balance between the human he was and the elemental he has become.  Lastly, the Sandman (a.k.a. Morpheus, Dream) is the lost Eternal who returns to his kingdom from mortal exile to be embroiled in the politics of all the realms between heaven and hell in addition to his own personal soul searching.  Between these three characters, a very rich mythology can be translated to the silver screen and make for a very compelling modern fantasy epic.  The crossover stories have easy potential.  For instance, in the Swamp Thing arc Murder of Crows, Swamp Thing and Constantine have to stop a huge black whirlwind of doom that's sending all the forces of light and dark running like hell.  I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to work the Sandman in there too.  

Why Not?

Unfortunately, these films would be very expensive and there's already been attempts at Swamp Thing and Constantine films, both of which eviscerated the source material and did poorly at the box office.  There's also the issue of creative material.  These three characters never appeared together in the same story.  Fortunately, DC owns all these lines and is entering heavily into film production.  A Sandman TV series is in development, so out of all the titles I've named here, this is the most possible, though not necessarily likely.  I suppose the viability is equally contingent on the success of the coming Justice League which will determine DC's presence in the multi-picture theater market.  

Dick Durock can stay, but there's no Keanu Reeves in this dojo. 

So, what do you think, can it be done?