Coen brothers' unrealized projects

The following is a list of unproduced Coen brothers projects in roughly chronological order. During their long careers, American filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen have worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under their direction. Some of these productions fell in development hell or were cancelled.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

1980s

Suburbicon

In 1986, the Coen brothers wrote the script Suburbicon, and had intended on directing the film themselves, but it was put aside and shelved in favor of other projects at the time. Later, in the 2000s, they sought out the script from Warner Bros., who owned the rights, and rewrote it with a contemporary setting and with George Clooney in mind to star. Clooney ultimately directed Suburbicon himself, with a script rewritten by Grant Heslov to take place in 1957.^[6]

1990s

Cuba Libre

In July 1997, the Coens agreed to adapt Elmore Leonard's next novel Cuba Libre, for Universal Pictures, however the two made no official commitment to direct at the time.^[7]

To the White Sea

That same month, it was reported that the Coens had considered adapting James Dickey's To the White Sea at Universal for Brad Pitt.^[7] In August 2000, Pitt officially signed on to star in the film.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12] They were due to start production in 2002, with Jeremy Thomas producing, but it was cancelled when the Coens felt that the budget offered was not enough to successfully produce the film.^[13] The Houston Chronicle reported that "no studio would fund the film."^[14] In August 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. acquired the film rights to the book and that their screenplay was scrapped and that another writer and/or director would replace them.^[15]^[16]^[17]

LaBrava

In March 1998, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Coen brothers had written an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1983 novel LaBrava, also for Universal.^[18]

The Contemplations

In an April 1998 interview with Alex Simon for Venice magazine, the Coens discussed a project called The Contemplations, which was to have been an anthology of short films based on stories in a leather bound book from a "dusty old library".^[19] This project may have influenced or evolved into The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), which has the same structure.^[1]^[2]^[4]

2000s

62 Skidoo

It was reported in 2004^[20] that the Coen brothers were to make a Cold War-related comedy film project titled 62 Skidoo.^[21] Nicolas Cage was attached to the project.^[22]

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

In 2008, it was announced that the Coen brothers were to write and direct a film adaptation of Michael Chabon's novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union for Columbia Pictures.^[23]^[24]^[25] Scott Rudin, who collaborated with the brothers in No Country for Old Men (2007), was to have served as producer.^[26]^[27] When asked about the status of the project in 2015, Chabon confirmed: "Nothing. The Coen brothers wrote a draft of the script and then they seemed to move on. The rights have lapsed back to me."^[28]

Old Fink

In 2009, the Coens stated that they were interested in making a sequel to their film Barton Fink (1991) called Old Fink, which would take place in the 1960s, around the same time period as A Serious Man (2009). The Coens also stated they had talks with John Turturro in reprising his role as Fink, but that they were waiting "until he was actually old enough to play the part".^[29]^[30]^[31]

2010s

Harve Karbo TV series

In 2011, the Coens were working on a television project, called Harve Karbo, about a quirky Los Angeles private eye, for Imagine Television.^[32]^[33]

Untitled musical comedy

In September 2013, the Coens stated in an interview that they were working on a new musical comedy centered around an opera singer, though they said it is "not a musical per se".^[34]

Untitled sword-and-sandal epic

In an interview conducted with the Coen brothers in December 2013, the two expressed their involvement in a sprawling sword-and-sandal epic set in ancient Rome.^[35]

Black Money

In August 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. had optioned the film rights to Ross Macdonald's novel Black Money for the Coen brothers to potentially write and direct.^[36]^[37]^[38]^[39]

The Zebra-Striped Hearse

The Coens have written an as-yet-unproduced screenplay based on the Ross Macdonald mystery novel The Zebra-Striped Hearse, for producer Joel Silver. Silver first spoke of the project in May 2016.^[6]

Dark Web

It was reported in October 2016 that the Coens would work on the screenplay for Fox titled Dark Web, based on Joshuah Bearman's two-part Wired article about Ross Ulbricht and his illicit Silk Road online marketplace. The project originated in 2013, with novelist Dennis Lehane on board for the screenplay. Chernin Entertainment would produce.^[40]^[41]

Scarface remake

On February 10, 2017, it was announced that the Scarface remake's script was being written by the Coens.^[42] Luca Guadagnino announced plans to direct the film.^[43]

References

^ ^a ^b Wakeman, Gregory (October 16, 2015). "6 Coen Brothers Projects We Still Hope Make It To Cinemas". CinemaBlend. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Dee, Jake (November 14, 2020). "10 Unmade Coen Brothers Movies We're Still Hoping For". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Ward, Steven (December 20, 2021). "6 Canceled Coen Brothers Projects We Wish We Could've Seen". Slash Film. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Simpson, Joe (September 4, 2020). "Every Unmade Coen Brothers Movie (& Why They Didn't Happen)". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Swapnil Dhurv Bose (September 24, 2022). "Exploring five promising cancelled projects by the Coen brothers". Far Out. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Radish, Christina (May 20, 2016). "Joel Silver on The Nice Guys, Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman". Collider. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Variety Staff (July 9, 1997). "Coens take 'Cuba Libre' order". Variety. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
^ Patterson, John (December 21, 2007). "We've killed a lot of animals". The Guardian. London. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
^ Brake, Scott (August 15, 2000). "Brad Pitt To Take A Swim In Coen Brothers' White Sea". IGN. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ ABC News (August 16, 2000). "Pitt to Parachute for Coen Bros". ABC News. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Cotter, Padraig (February 22, 2020). "The Coen Brothers Unmade To The White Sea Could Have Been Another Classic". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ "Disturbed takes a look at the Coen Bros Draft of TO THE WHITE SEA!". Ain't It Cool News. September 23, 2000. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Hutchinson, Sean (April 15, 2015). "15 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Intolerable Cruelty". Mental Floss. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ "World War II film lost in translation for Coen brothers". Houston Chronicle. March 22, 2004. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Jagernauth, Kevin (August 25, 2015). "Former Coen Brothers Project 'To The White Sea' Moves On Without Them". IndieWire. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Fischer, Russ (August 24, 2015). "'To The White' Sea Back In Development, Without The Coen Brothers". Slash Film. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Kit, Borys (August 24, 2015). "Warner Bros., Roy Lee to Adapt World War II Tale 'To the White Sea' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Gritten, David (March 5, 1998). "The Coen Mystique". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
^ Simon, Alex. "Brother's Keepers". Venice Magazine (April 1998).
^ "Joel Coen: The plan that wasn't there". The Independent. June 18, 2004. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Techler, Graham (January 22, 2017). "Five Ways Your Amazing Movie Does Not Get Made". Paste. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Schonfeld, Zach (2023). How Coppola Became Cage. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. ISBN 9780197556375.page 157
^ Fleming, Michael (February 11, 2008). "Coens speak 'Yiddish' for Columbia". Variety. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Reynolds, Simon (February 12, 2008). "Coens to direct 'Yiddish Policemen's Union'". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Gorman, Steve (February 12, 2008). "Chabon's 'Yiddish Policemen' headed for big screen". Reuters. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ "Coen brothers adapting Chabon's Yiddish". Entertainment Weekly. February 13, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ "Coen brothers to adapt Chabon book". United Press International. February 12, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Costello, Brannon (2015). Conversations with Michael Chabon. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781626746695.
^ Rosenberg, Adam (September 21, 2009). "EXCLUSIVE: Coen Brothers Want John Turturro To Get Old For 'Barton Fink' Sequel, 'Old Fink'". MTV. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
^ Setoodeh, Ramin (February 3, 2016). "The Coen Brothers Will Never Make a Sequel to 'The Big Lebowski'". Variety. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Jagernauth, Kevin (February 4, 2016). "Coen Brothers Talk 'Barton Fink' Sequel 'Old Fink' And #OscarsSoWhite Controversy". IndieWire. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Golberg, Lesley (October 4, 2011). "Fox, Coen Brothers Team for Comedy Project". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Bettinger, Brendan (October 5, 2011). "The Coen Brothers to Produce Private Eye Comedy Series HARVEKARBO at Fox with Phil Johnston". Collider. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ "The Coen Brothers are Writing a Film About an Opera Singer". /Film. September 3, 2013.
^ Coyle, Jake (December 2, 2013). "The Coens abide: Joel & Ethan on refusing maturity". Yahoo! News. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (August 15, 2015). "Joel And Ethan Coen To Adapt & Direct Ross MacDonald Novel 'Black Money' For Warner Bros". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Kroll, Justin (August 5, 2015). "Joel and Ethan Coen to Write, May Direct Adaptation of Crime Novel 'Black Money'". Variety. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Ford, Rebecca (August 5, 2015). "Coen Brothers to Write and Direct Adaptation of 'Black Money' for Warner Bros". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Davis, Edward (August 5, 2015). "Coen Brothers To Adapt, Possibly Direct Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer Crime Novel 'Black Money'". IndieWire. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Siegel, Tatiana (October 14, 2016). "Coen Brothers to Write Internet Thriller 'Dark Web' for Fox (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Calvario, Liz (October 14, 2016). "The Coen Brothers to Pen Illegal Drug Market Thriller 'Dark Web'". IndieWire. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ "Scarface Remake Gets Coen Brothers Script, Release Date". February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
^ Lattanzio, Ryan (May 14, 2020). "Luca Guadagnino to Direct New 'Scarface' Film Scripted by the Coen Brothers". IndieWire. Retrieved June 1, 2020.

External links

Coen brothers' unrealized projects at IMDb

[wakeman-1] Wakeman, Gregory (October 16, 2015). "6 Coen Brothers Projects We Still Hope Make It To Cinemas". CinemaBlend. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[dee-2] Dee, Jake (November 14, 2020). "10 Unmade Coen Brothers Movies We're Still Hoping For". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[ward-3] Ward, Steven (December 20, 2021). "6 Canceled Coen Brothers Projects We Wish We Could've Seen". Slash Film. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[simpson-4] Simpson, Joe (September 4, 2020). "Every Unmade Coen Brothers Movie (& Why They Didn't Happen)". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[bose-5] Swapnil Dhurv Bose (September 24, 2022). "Exploring five promising cancelled projects by the Coen brothers". Far Out. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[silver-6] Radish, Christina (May 20, 2016). "Joel Silver on The Nice Guys, Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman". Collider. Retrieved November 19, 2023.

[order-7] Variety Staff (July 9, 1997). "Coens take 'Cuba Libre' order". Variety. Retrieved September 23, 2023.

[8] Patterson, John (December 21, 2007). "We've killed a lot of animals". The Guardian. London. Retrieved February 28, 2011.

[9] Brake, Scott (August 15, 2000). "Brad Pitt To Take A Swim In Coen Brothers' White Sea". IGN. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[10] ABC News (August 16, 2000). "Pitt to Parachute for Coen Bros". ABC News. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[11] Cotter, Padraig (February 22, 2020). "The Coen Brothers Unmade To The White Sea Could Have Been Another Classic". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[12] "Disturbed takes a look at the Coen Bros Draft of TO THE WHITE SEA!". Ain't It Cool News. September 23, 2000. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[13] Hutchinson, Sean (April 15, 2015). "15 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Intolerable Cruelty". Mental Floss. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[14] "World War II film lost in translation for Coen brothers". Houston Chronicle. March 22, 2004. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[15] Jagernauth, Kevin (August 25, 2015). "Former Coen Brothers Project 'To The White Sea' Moves On Without Them". IndieWire. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[16] Fischer, Russ (August 24, 2015). "'To The White' Sea Back In Development, Without The Coen Brothers". Slash Film. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[17] Kit, Borys (August 24, 2015). "Warner Bros., Roy Lee to Adapt World War II Tale 'To the White Sea' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[18] Gritten, David (March 5, 1998). "The Coen Mystique". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 23, 2023.

[19] Simon, Alex. "Brother's Keepers". Venice Magazine (April 1998).

[20] "Joel Coen: The plan that wasn't there". The Independent. June 18, 2004. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[21] Techler, Graham (January 22, 2017). "Five Ways Your Amazing Movie Does Not Get Made". Paste. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[22] Schonfeld, Zach (2023). How Coppola Became Cage. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. ISBN 9780197556375.page 157

[23] Fleming, Michael (February 11, 2008). "Coens speak 'Yiddish' for Columbia". Variety. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[24] Reynolds, Simon (February 12, 2008). "Coens to direct 'Yiddish Policemen's Union'". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[25] Gorman, Steve (February 12, 2008). "Chabon's 'Yiddish Policemen' headed for big screen". Reuters. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[26] "Coen brothers adapting Chabon's Yiddish". Entertainment Weekly. February 13, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[27] "Coen brothers to adapt Chabon book". United Press International. February 12, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[28] Costello, Brannon (2015). Conversations with Michael Chabon. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781626746695.

[29] Rosenberg, Adam (September 21, 2009). "EXCLUSIVE: Coen Brothers Want John Turturro To Get Old For 'Barton Fink' Sequel, 'Old Fink'". MTV. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved September 21, 2009.

[30] Setoodeh, Ramin (February 3, 2016). "The Coen Brothers Will Never Make a Sequel to 'The Big Lebowski'". Variety. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[31] Jagernauth, Kevin (February 4, 2016). "Coen Brothers Talk 'Barton Fink' Sequel 'Old Fink' And #OscarsSoWhite Controversy". IndieWire. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[32] Golberg, Lesley (October 4, 2011). "Fox, Coen Brothers Team for Comedy Project". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[33] Bettinger, Brendan (October 5, 2011). "The Coen Brothers to Produce Private Eye Comedy Series HARVEKARBO at Fox with Phil Johnston". Collider. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[34] "The Coen Brothers are Writing a Film About an Opera Singer". /Film. September 3, 2013.

[35] Coyle, Jake (December 2, 2013). "The Coens abide: Joel & Ethan on refusing maturity". Yahoo! News. Retrieved November 18, 2023.

[36] Fleming, Mike Jr. (August 15, 2015). "Joel And Ethan Coen To Adapt & Direct Ross MacDonald Novel 'Black Money' For Warner Bros". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[37] Kroll, Justin (August 5, 2015). "Joel and Ethan Coen to Write, May Direct Adaptation of Crime Novel 'Black Money'". Variety. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[38] Ford, Rebecca (August 5, 2015). "Coen Brothers to Write and Direct Adaptation of 'Black Money' for Warner Bros". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[39] Davis, Edward (August 5, 2015). "Coen Brothers To Adapt, Possibly Direct Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer Crime Novel 'Black Money'". IndieWire. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[40] Siegel, Tatiana (October 14, 2016). "Coen Brothers to Write Internet Thriller 'Dark Web' for Fox (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[41] Calvario, Liz (October 14, 2016). "The Coen Brothers to Pen Illegal Drug Market Thriller 'Dark Web'". IndieWire. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[42] "Scarface Remake Gets Coen Brothers Script, Release Date". February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.

[Guadagnino-43] Lattanzio, Ryan (May 14, 2020). "Luca Guadagnino to Direct New 'Scarface' Film Scripted by the Coen Brothers". IndieWire. Retrieved June 1, 2020.

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