Top 10 Movie Crossovers That Were Almost Made
#10: “X-Men,” “Fantastic Four,” “Daredevil” & “Deadpool”
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Superhero crossovers are all the rage these days, but one of the most ambitious ones, outside the MCU, was almost made in the early 2010s. Screenwriter Zack Stentz revealed on Kevin Smith’s podcast that he and his former writing partner Ashley Miller wrote a script for Fox that would have featured every Marvel character they had the rights to at the time. We’re talking the X-Men rubbing shoulders with the Fantastic Four, as well as Daredevil and even Deadpool. While Stentz didn’t go into plot details, we can only imagine how crazy that would’ve been! Probably at least as nuts as the cameo the Fantastic 4 almost had in “Deadpool 2!”
#9: “Die Hard” & “24”
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While never officially confirmed, a crossover between these two action franchises was heavily rumored in the early 2010s. The original title of the fifth “Die Hard” film was intended to be “Die Hard 24/7,” which led to speculation that it would’ve seen John McClane team up with Jack Bauer. Other rumors put the crossover as being developed because of “Die Hard 5”’s poor reception. Whatever the timeline of the “could have been” series or film, it’s an idea we’d love to see put into action. Sure, McClane’s more fast-and-loose approach to fighting terrorists and other bad guys would clash with Jack Bauer’s more serious approach. But that’s what makes buddy cop stories so good! It couldn’t be worse than “A Good Day to Die Hard…”
#8: “Hellraiser” & “Halloween”
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As wild as the planned crossover between these franchises and “Jay and Silent Bob” would have been, we think the one just between “Hellraiser” and “Halloween” would have been even better. According to Pinhead himself, Doug Bradley, talks were held around the release of “Freddy vs. Jason,” with “Hellraiser” writer Clive Barker set to script and John Carpenter to direct. Bradley claims the project didn’t go forward because the producers with the rights to “Halloween” at the time didn’t want the two franchises interacting. Although both franchises have had something of a revival recently, we’d still have loved to see these horror icons on screen together.
#7: “Batman Meets Godzilla”
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Uh…what? That’s right! During the late 1960s, there was actually a plan to cross Adam West’s Batman with Godzilla, king of the monsters. A 22-page treatment exists for this planned film, though who wrote it remains unknown. The basic plot revolves around a German meteorologist who threatens to destroy Japan using Godzilla, who he’s controlling remotely. The caped crusaders are brought in to help, and Godzilla falls in love with Batgirl. Batman then defeats Godzilla by knocking him out with an explosive after distracting the big reptile with a manufactured mating call from a female Godzilla. This absolutely bonkers idea never went through, due to waning interest in the “Batman” TV series and its creator passing on making a sequel.
#6: Stanley Kubrick’s “The Lord of the Rings” Starring the Beatles
Here comes another head scratcher from the ‘60s. The Beatles had their sights on bringing J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” to the big screen, with Paul McCartney as Frodo, Ringo Starr as Samwise Gamgee, George Harrison as Gandalf, and John Lennon as Gollum. They were interested in having Stanley Kubrick direct it, and filling it with original songs. However, Kubrick wasn’t interested, claiming it was impossible to adapt. Also, they couldn’t convince Tolkien to sell them the rights, as he didn’t care for their music. While it probably wouldn’t have been a faithful or good adaptation, we’re still morbidly curious about what could’ve been.
#5: “Reservoir Dogs” & “Pulp Fiction”
Astute fans of Quentin Tarantino’s filmography are no doubt aware that there are several connections between his films. One of the most notable is that two of the characters in his early films, Vic Vega and Vincent Vega, from “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” respectively, are brothers. The director talked for years about doing a prequel film featuring the siblings, which would reportedly have been set in Amsterdam and been called “Double V Vega.” Ultimately, the actors’ ages put a nix on the possibility of making it a reality. You might say Tarantino barked about this idea, but he never bit.
#4: “Men in Black” & “21 Jump Street”
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The only planned crossover between comedy franchises to make our list, this one got farther than many of our entries so far. The planned crossover film between “Men in Black” and “21 Jump Street” would have been called “MiB 23,” and would have featured the leads of the latter franchise encountering Men in Black agents. A script was written by Rodney Rothman and James Bobin was set to direct. Sadly, both franchises have moved on, with Jonah Hill citing the difficulty in blending “Jump Street”’s meta-humor with “MiB”’s tone. Still, the possibility is still open. What do we have to say to get the attention of the people who can make this happen?
#3: “G.I. Joe” & “Transformers”
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Each of these franchises based on Hasbro toys has done big numbers at the box office, despite being largely lambasted by critics. Yet, their similar, big action set pieces do feel cut from the same cloth. Plans to create a shared universe between the two franchises have been in talks since at least 2013. Also in talks for inclusion are films based on “M.A.S.K.” and “Micronauts.” Although a writers room has been established, little information has been made available since 2017. It’s possible that there’s “more than meets the eye” to this crossover’s prospects for the future, but it’ll take “a real American hero” to bring it back to the limelight.
#2: “Godzilla” & “King Kong” & “Pacific Rim”
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C’mon! This is a no-brainer crossover right? “Pacific Rim” is a franchise about giant mechs punching giant monsters. And the Monsterverse is all about the most famous giant monsters of all. Chocolate meets peanut butter, bada-bing, bada-boom! Although “Pacific Rim: Uprising” director Steven S. DeKnight expressed interest in the crossover, producer Cale Boyter seemed to put a nix on the likelihood of one in the near future, though he also thinks it “might be cool.” Might! Still, given how successful the Monsterverse films are and how mixed the reception to “Pacific Rim”’s seem to be, maybe the latter need a few more wins under their mechanical belts before heading to the title fight.
#1: “Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash”
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Sure, we got the horror villain versus horror villain fight in “Freddy vs Jason.” But there were also talks of a sequel, with both of them up against Ash Williams, hero of the “Evil Dead” franchise. All three are icons of ‘80s horror, and seeing them duke it out onscreen, and maybe deliver some dark humor, would’ve been a blast! Unfortunately, there were some disagreements behind the scenes. According to Freddy Krueger actor Robert Englund, “Evil Dead” head honcho Sam Raimi wanted Ash to win. While Englund was fully onboard, New Line Cinema was not. There was a comic book series made out of the idea, but it still would’ve been pretty “groovy” to see on the silver screen.
