View source for Tobe Hooper's unrealized projects

{{Short description|none}}
The following is a '''list of unproduced Tobe Hooper projects''' in roughly chronological order. Over the course of his career, American film director [[Tobe Hooper]] had worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell into "[[development hell]]" or were officially cancelled, while others were taken over and completed by other filmmakers.

==1970s==
===Untitled Hansel and Gretel film===
After working together on his first feature ''[[Eggshells (film)|Eggshells]]'', Hooper enlisted [[Kim Henkel]] to help him develop a script for a modern version of [[Hansel and Gretel]]. The two kept the original idea, "only instead of being lured to a [[gingerbread]] [[cottage]] with [[gumdrops]], it was a little more sinister," recalled Henkel. To update the story, Hooper and Henkel studied literature on real-life [[Human cannibalism|cannibals]] and serial killers. This collaboration eventually led to the screenplay for ''[[The Texas Chain Saw Massacre]]'', after scrapping their initial idea.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Bloom|first=John|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/they-came-they-sawed/|title=They Came. They Sawed.|magazine=[[Texas Monthly]]|date=November 2004}}</ref>

===Untitled comedy mystery film===
After making ''[[The Texas Chain Saw Massacre]]'', Hooper said he had several projects lined up and that he wanted to go into the [[Comedy film|comedy genre]]. One screenplay he wrote, classified by Hooper as a "comedy-[[Mystery film|mystery]]," would have been a [[John Travolta]] vehicle about a [[meteor]] that hits a small town [[Traveling carnival|carnival]] and takes it down into the earth, creating a "[[floppy disk]]" of sorts that plays on a [[time loop]]. "It was mysterious," Hooper said of the project, "It had a lot of twists and turns," comparing the script's bizarre sense of humor and the characters to [[Federico Fellini]] and [[Roman Polanski]] films. "I wave regret not being able to get the film put together," he added, "and I worked quite a long time."<ref>{{cite web |last=Thoret |first=Jean-Baptiste |title=TOBE HOOPER : The Big Floppy Disk &#124; Jamais Sur Vos Écrans |url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=KSyocD9L19c&si=M9pQWt1WEutFihLD |website=[[YouTube]] |publisher=Créations originales - Forum des images |format=video |date=March 1, 2016}}</ref>

===''Beyond the Valley of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre''===
The original concept for what became ''[[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2]]'' was a pitch by Hooper and co-writer [[Kim Henkel]] titled ''Beyond the Valley of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Librizzi|first=Chris|url=https://whatculture.com/film/12-awesome-sounding-sequels-we-wish-had-happened|title=12 Awesome Sounding Sequels We Wish Had Happened|website=[[WhatCulture]]|date=April 3, 2013|access-date=October 28, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Brehmer|first=Nat|url=https://wickedhorror.com/features/script-to-pieces-beyond-the-valley-of-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre/|title=Beyond The Valley of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Script to Pieces|website=Wicked Horror|date=October 4, 2018|access-date=October 28, 2023}}</ref> The idea was meant to satirize the 1980 horror-comedy ''[[Motel Hell]]'', which itself was a [[Parody film|spoof]] of Hooper's original film.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dee|first=Jake|url=https://screenrant.com/texas-chainsaw-massacre-2-behind-scenes-facts-sequel/|title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Crazy Sequel|website=[[Screen Rant]]|date=September 7, 2020|access-date=October 28, 2023}}</ref> The pitch involved a group of kids who end up in an entire town filled with murderous, backwoods [[Human cannibalism|cannibals]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Sprague|first=Mike|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/280266/beyond-the-valley-of-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-tobe-hoopers-true-sequel/|title=BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: Tobe Hooper's True Sequel|website=[[Dread Central]]|date=October 1, 2018|access-date=October 28, 2023}}</ref>

Later, in the early 1980s, Hooper worked with [[John Milius]] to develop another iteration of a sequel that would have picked up where the first film left off. Though this version too would fall through, as Hooper could not secure proper funding. "[The project] was so crazy, maybe they thought 'This guy's a lunatic'," said Hooper. "John never thought that."<ref name="Ary">{{cite web |last=Ary |first=John |title=Tobe Hooper Interview |url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=HeSwdk06-EU&si=udObZqTWjiAIYuW7 |website=[[YouTube]] |language=en |format=video |date=January 8, 2013}}</ref>

===''The Thing from Another World'' remake===
{{Main|The Thing (1982 film)}}
In 1977, Hooper was approached by [[Universal Pictures]] to direct the remake of ''[[The Thing from Another World]]''. After he and [[Kim Henkel]]'s draft was rejected, [[John Carpenter]] would go on to helm the [[The Thing (1982 film)|1982 film]]. Co-producer Stuart Cohen later described Hooper's version as an "[[Antarctica]] ''[[Moby-Dick]]''" centered around a character dubbed The Captain hunting a large, non-[[shapeshifting]] alien.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cotter|first=Padraig|url=https://screenrant.com/thing-movie-tobe-hooper-version-moby-dick/|title=Tobe Hooper's The Thing Plan Was A Sci-Fi Moby Dick|website=[[Screen Rant]]|date=March 7, 2021|access-date=October 28, 2023}}</ref>

===''The Dark''===
{{Main|The Dark (1979 film)}}
Hooper had been hired by [[Film Ventures International]] to direct ''[[The Dark (1979 film)|The Dark]]'' but was fired by the producers two days into shooting for falling behind schedule. He was replaced by [[John Cardos]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Knipfel|first=Jim|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/looking-back-at-the-dark-1979/|title=Looking Back at The Dark (1979)|website=[[Den of Geek]]|date=June 15, 2014|access-date=October 31, 2023}}</ref><ref name="FiveMovies">{{cite web|last=Bromley|first=Patrick|url=http://www.fthismovie.net/2018/08/five-movies-almost-directed-by-tobe.html?m=1|title=Five Movies Almost Directed by Tobe Hooper|website=F This Movie!|date=August 21, 2018|access-date=October 31, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Harding|first=Bradely|url=https://screenrant.com/tobe-hooper-fired-1979-alien-rip-off-movie-reason/|title=Why Tobe Hooper Was Fired From A 1979 Alien Rip-Off|website=[[Screen Rant]]|date=August 1, 2020|access-date=October 31, 2023}}</ref>

==1980s==
===''Venom''===
{{Main|Venom (1981 film)}}
''[[Venom (1981 film)|Venom]]'' was to be originally directed by Hooper, who had shot nine total days of footage for the film. Hooper had also developed the script with the writer during pre-production, scouted and chose the locations.<ref name="FiveMovies"/> At the time of its initial release, star [[Klaus Kinski]] boasted about how he and other cast and crew members ganged up on Hooper in the first weeks of production in order to have him replaced.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dee|first=Jake|url=https://www.joblo.com/the-f-cking-black-sheep-venom-1981-328/|title=The F*cking Black Sheep: Venom (1981)|website=[[JoBlo.com]]|date=September 28, 2018|access-date=October 30, 2023}}</ref> On the 2003 DVD commentary, director [[Piers Haggard]] insisted that the material Hooper had shot was dropped from the final cut of the film. "[Hooper's footage] was all sort of derivative of [[Fritz Lang]], all lit from below... kind of a bit stereotyped... cliched," Haggard said.<ref>[[Piers Haggard|Haggard, Piers]] (director) (2003). "Audio Commentary with Director Piers Haggard". [''[[Venom (1981 film)|Venom]]'' Region 1 DVD]. [[Blue Underground|Blue Underground, Inc]].</ref>

===''Night Skies''===
{{Main|Night Skies}}
In the early 1980s, [[Steven Spielberg]] suggested Hooper to direct his concept for a proposed [[Science fiction|sci-fi]]/horror film about a family's encounter with menacing aliens, titled ''[[Night Skies]]''. [[John Sayles]] was hired to write the script, and special effects artist [[Rick Baker (makeup artist)|Rick Baker]] was chosen to oversee the design of the alien creatures. The film was scheduled to begin shooting after Spielberg returned from filming ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''. Although ''Night Skies'' as a film would never reach production, it helped inspire not only ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'', but Hooper's own ''[[Poltergeist (1982 film)|Poltergeist]]'', for which he had also been hired by Spielberg to direct.<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldberg|first=Reid|url=https://collider.com/steven-spielberg-night-skies-unmade-horror-movie/|title=Two Steven Spielberg Classics Were Inspired by an Unmade Horror Script|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|date=October 1, 2023|access-date=October 30, 2023}}</ref>

===''The Return of the Living Dead''===
{{Main|The Return of the Living Dead}}
<ref>{{cite web|last=Brehmer|first=Nat|url=https://wickedhorror.com/features/script-pieces-tobe-hoopers-return-living-dead-3d/|title=Script to Pieces: Tobe Hooper's Return of the Living Dead 3D|website=Wicked Horror|date=June 7, 2017|access-date=October 31, 2023}}</ref><ref name="FiveMovies"/>

===''King Solomon's Mines''===
{{Main|King Solomon's Mines (1985 film)}}
Early on in its development, Hooper was attached to direct [[Cannon Films]]' [[King Solomon's Mines (1985 film)|remake]] of ''[[King Solomon's Mines (1950 film)|King Solomon's Mines]]'' with [[Telly Savalas]] as a possible alternative co-star.<ref>{{citation | url=http://www.cannonfilms.com/unproduced.htm | title=Cannon: Alterd/Unproduced Projects | access-date=2016-07-13 | archive-date=2018-11-02 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102114223/http://www.cannonfilms.com/unproduced.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> The resulting film was directed by [[J. Lee Thompson]].

===''Spider-Man''===
In the mid-1980s, Hooper was slated to direct a film based on the [[Marvel Comics]] character [[Spider-Man]] for [[Cannon Films]].<ref name="FiveMovies"/> "It would have been cool," he later reflected. "An origin story... but we really needed [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] to do it properly."<ref>{{cite web|last=Pfeiffer|first=Oliver|url=https://whatculture.com/film/frightfest-2010-tobe-hooper-was-a-quietly-mannered-presence-while-robert-englund-stayed-on-the-rocks|title=FrightFest 2010: TOBE HOOPER was a quietly mannered presence, while ROBERT ENGLUND stayed on the rocks|website=[[WhatCulture]]|date=June 25, 2011|access-date=August 2, 2024}}</ref>

===''Pinocchio the Robot''===
In October 1985, it was reported that [[The Cannon Group, Inc.|The Cannon Group]], who had produced Hooper's ''[[Lifeforce (film)|Lifeforce]]'', ''[[Invaders from Mars (1986 film)|Invaders from Mars]]'' and ''[[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2]]'', would finance his new film based on [[The Adventures of Pinocchio|the Pinocchio fairy tale]], titled ''Pinocchio the Robot''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/25/movies/at-the-movies.html|title=AT THE MOVIES|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 25, 1985|access-date=November 11, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1985/10/27/cannon-films-makes-a-bid-for-respect/|title=CANNON FILMS MAKES A BID FOR RESPECT|newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|date=October 27, 1985|access-date=November 11, 2023}}</ref> Cannon head [[Menahem Golan]] wanted [[Lee Marvin]] to play [[Geppetto]],<ref>{{cite tweet|number=1339765112492544000|user=BodySnatchers79|title=Cannon's unmade Pinocchio: The Robot, directed by Tobe Hooper and screenplay by Dan O'Bannon. Menahem Golan wanted Lee Marvin to play Geppetto. Infinitely bonkers.|date=17 December 2020}}</ref> in a story written by [[Dan O'Bannon]] and Don Jakoby.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Film Comment|url=https://www.filmcomment.com/article/unproduced-and-unfinished-films-l-through-z-a-ongoing-film-comment-project/|title=Unproduced and Unfinished Films: An Ongoing Film Comment project|magazine=[[Film Comment]]|issue=May-June 2012 Issue}}</ref> Austin Trunick, author of ''The Cannon Film Guide'', claimed that the project was "supposedly intended for children."<ref>{{cite web|last=Banks|first=Nick|url=https://conskipper.com/the-cannon-film-guide-author-austin-trunick-the-conskipper-interview/|title='The Cannon Film Guide' Author Austin Trunick: The Conskipper Interview|website=Conskipper|date=August 9, 2022|access-date=November 11, 2023}}</ref> Despite entering early stages of pre-production, and promotional material made,<ref>{{cite tweet|number=1340405497187491842|user=BodySnatchers79|title=Promotional art for Cannon Films' unmade Pinocchio: The Robot that was going to be directed by Tobe Hooper. Dan O'Bannon & Don Jakoby wrote the script and Lee Marvin was going to play Geppetto. Many thanks to @CannonFilmGuide for posting this.|date=19 December 2020}}</ref> the film was not produced.

==1990s==
===''The Dentist''===
On May 15, 1995, in the ''[[Variety (magazine)|Daily Variety]]'' "Future Films" issue, Hooper was listed as director of a film called ''The Dentist'' written by Brent V. Friedman and David Robinson, to be produced by Mark Borde through Carpe Dentum Productions and distributed by [[Orion Pictures]].<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Variety Staff|url=https://variety.com/1995/film/features/future-films-8-99127566/amp/|title=FUTURE FILMS|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 15, 1995|access-date=November 30, 2023|quote=THE DENTIST (Carpe Dentum Prods., 1800 N. Highland Ave., Suite 311, Hollywood 90028,213-461-3936, Fax: 461-5287) 9/4, Los Angeles.<br>EXP, J. David Williams; PROD, Mark Borde; DIR, Tobe Hooper; SCR, Brent V. Friedman, David Robinson; CAST, Montgomery-Parada; DISTRIB, Orion Pictures; FOREIGN, CineFin Intl.}}</ref> By August, the project was revealed to be a "big-screen [[Science fiction|sci-fi]] thriller" starring [[Christopher Lloyd]], scheduled to enter production in late September.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Nashawaty|first=Chris|url=https://ew.com/article/1995/08/18/texas-chainsaw-massacre-was-made-22-years-ago/|title=''Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' was made 22 years ago|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=August 18, 1995|access-date=December 2, 2023}}</ref> However, reports in September claimed ''The Dentist'' was then in [[Development limbo|limbo]].<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Variety Staff|url=https://variety.com/1995/scene/markets-festivals/rapture-flap-goes-to-the-courts-99130046/|title='RAPTURE' FLAP GOES TO THE COURTS|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 11, 1995|access-date=June 27, 2024}}</ref>

==2000s==
===Untitled noir thriller===
In 2000, Hooper told ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' that he was at that time working on a "suspenseful" [[Film noir|noir]] thriller "in the ''[[Dark Passage (film)|Dark Passage]]''/[[Humphrey Bogart|Bogart]] tradition."<ref>{{cite web|last=Phipps|first=Keith|url=https://www.avclub.com/tobe-hooper-1798208113|title=Tobe Hooper|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=October 11, 2000|access-date=October 28, 2023}}</ref>

===''Planning Lawrence Fankhauser's Death''===
In 2002, at the [[Cannes Film Festival]], Hooper struck a deal to direct the dark comedy ''Planning Lawrence Fankhauser's Death'', a farcical take on the world of [[Habitual offender|career criminals]] attempting to move up the food chain, written by Steven Sessions.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Harris|first=Dana|url=https://variety.com/2002/film/markets-festivals/hooper-tapped-to-face-death-project-1117866889/|title=Hooper tapped to face 'Death' project|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 14, 2002|access-date=October 28, 2023}}</ref> Hooper would have developed the project for Etchie Stroh's Moonstone Entertainment.

===''I Walked with a Zombie'' remake===
In the mid-2000s, [[RKO Pictures#Later incarnations|RKO Pictures LLC]] was revived and sought to produce [[Film remake|remakes]] of their entire catalogue slate. Hooper was called in to pitch for a remake of ''[[I Walked with a Zombie]]'', and had contacted screenwriter Jared Rivet to help develop the film.{{sfn|Alexander|2021|p=23-24}}

===''White Zombie'' remake===
Instead of remaking ''I Walked with a Zombie'', Hooper and Jared Rivet settled on the 1932 [[Bela Lugosi]] film ''[[White Zombie (film)|White Zombie]]''. Based on the 1929 novel ''[[The Magic Island]]'' by [[William Seabrook]], Hooper and Rivet worked very closely on the adapted script together, making sure to hit all the major plot points of the original film. Speaking about their project in the book ''Untold Horrors'', Rivet recalled:

<blockquote>"We definitely wanted to amplify the weirdness. Tobe was in a stage where he was in love with what [[David Lynch]] was doing. ''[[Inland Empire (film)|Inland Empire]]'' had come out and he was enamored with the idea that Lynch could just grab a digital camera and some friends and just go off and make a feature. And of course [[Danny Boyle]] had done the same thing with ''[[28 Days Later]]'', so he wanted to just make something that was run 'n' gun."</blockquote>

Hooper wanted to shoot the film entirely on [[soundstages]] to give the film a surreal, dreamlike look. Makeup artist John Goodwin was even called in at one point to do tests for the design of the creatures. The project was shopped around to various companies, with the title at one point even changed to ''The Devil's Breath'' to sound more marketable. In 2009, it landed at [[The Bubble Factory]], who agreed to produce the film under the condition that the ideas present in their script be altered. This draft was then scrapped and, in 2012, Brandon Wyse boarded the film as writer. Now titled ''White Zombie: Louisiana'', this version, unlike the previous draft, focused on [[Human cannibalism|cannibalistic]] [[zombie]]s. Hooper approved of Wyse's script, though never met with him directly. Despite talk of [[Ron Perlman]] and [[Tony Todd]] potentially starring, the film stalled in development for several years until Hooper's death in 2017. Wyse, who from that point had still been getting feedback, didn't see a reason to carry on.{{sfn|Alexander|2021|p=24-35}}

===''From a Buick 8''===
In 2007, Hooper replaced [[George A. Romero]] as director of the feature adaptation of [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[From a Buick 8]]''. [[Johnathon Schaech]] and [[Richard Chizmar]] wrote the script, which had been optioned by Moonstone Entertainment and Amicus.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Lyford|first=Kathy|title=Tobe Hooper gets 'Buick' in gear|url=https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/tobe-hooper-gets-buick-in-gear-1117973826/|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=October 10, 2007|access-date=October 28, 2023}}</ref> Production on the film stalled in 2009 due to problems obtaining financing.<ref>{{cite web|last=Otto|first=Jeff|title='Buick 8' Update: Schaech Says Script is Great, But...|url=http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/15963/buick-8-update-schaech-says-script-is-great-but/|website=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|date=April 22, 2009|access-date=October 28, 2023}}</ref>

==2010s==
===''Eaten Alive'' remake===
In June 2010, Hooper teased the notion of [[Remake|remaking]] his own film ''[[Eaten Alive]]''. "There's a lot of work to do," he said. "It would be weird. And the challenge would be to replace [[Neville Brand]]. That's another film and another story, though."<ref>{{cite web|last=Turek|first=Ryan|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/horror/news/718799-the-funhouse-retrospective-an-interview-with-tobe-hooper-page-2|title=The Funhouse Retrospective: An Interview With Tobe Hooper Page 2|website=ComingSoon.net|date=June 22, 2010|access-date=August 2, 2024}}</ref>

===Untitled dream project===
On a 2010 episode of ''Post Mortem with [[Mick Garris]]'', when asked which subject he would choose if he were able direct anything he wanted on a limitless budget, Hooper said he would make a film along the lines of a [[Charles Dickens]] novel or ''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]''. "That would be a wonderful area to go into," he added.<ref>{{cite web|last=Garris|first=Mick|author-link=Mick Garris|title=POST MORTEM: Tobe Hooper — Part 3|url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=k0dzAiebr-Y&si=1moMhgi718ahFvqa|website=[[YouTube]]|publisher=Mick Garris Interviews|language=en|format=video|date=September 1, 2014}}</ref>

===Untitled John Milius collaboration===
In a 2013 interview for [[Ain't It Cool News]], Hooper revealed that a couple years prior, he and [[John Milius]] had discussed collaborating on a potential project but that they had parted ways due to other commitments at the time, but could still reconnect.<ref name="Ary"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/60255|title=John Ary With Tobe Hooper!!|website=[[Ain't It Cool News]]|date=January 8, 2013|access-date=October 28, 2023}}</ref>

===Untitled film===
In 2015, Hooper revealed himself to be at work on a new film outside of the [[Horror film|horror genre]], questioning how well-received it would be when compared to what he's best known for: "I realize that when [the film] premieres, there will be references to my older work. It's a bit like [[Orson Welles]] and ''[[Citizen Kane]]'': when your first film is so well received, expectations will always be high."<ref>{{cite web|last=Ceulemans|first=Ewoud|url=https://vertigoweb.be/goede-horror-is-kunst/|title="Goede horror is kunst!"|website=vertigoweb.be|date=March 14, 2015|access-date=August 2, 2024|language=Dutch}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|last=Alexander|first=Dave|title=Untold Horror|publisher=[[Dark Horse Comics]]|date=2021|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JDhAEAAAQBAJ|isbn=9781506719023}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title}}

{{Tobe Hooper}}

[[Category:Lists of unrealized projects by artist|Hooper, Tobe]]