You may have heard of the name of that project because of the weight of its successors, but here, we’re aiming to explore some of the ones that came within striking distance of being made. These are the projects that were underway, some of them even close to the start of principal photography when they were waylaid, that never came to be.

To give you an idea, the first thing we’d observe is that he’s had almost as many unmade films set during World War II as produced ones. But within and without the following examples, there are things we’re yet to see him make, including superhero movies, musical comedies, and even a Stephen King adaptation…

Blackhawk

For starters, here’s one very early Spielberg project that might just have a chance of getting made. Before Raiders of the Lost Ark hit screens in 1981, Spielberg was circling DC Comics’ Blackhawk, which originally ran from 1941 to 1968, intending to direct a film version. Before he and Lucas created Indiana Jones, Spielberg was planning to cast Dan Aykroyd as the eponymous leader of the elite WW2 flying squad, who took on the Nazis and assorted other supervillains in the comic series.

Although Indy came along and rendered a Blackhawk movie moot, the renewed interest created by the film announcement was enough to make DC revive the title in the mid-1980s. Blackhawk also got a reboot in the publisher’s more recent New 52 era and, in a nice circular fashion, is now back on the table as a potential film project for Spielberg to direct. Then again, almost 40 years later, there’s another Indiana Jones movie yet to come, so don’t be too surprised if this gets brushed aside again.

Reel To Reel

Production is currently underway on Spielberg’s first musical, a remake of West Side Story, but the director has been angling to make a musical from very early on in his career. It would have been highly ambitious for Spielberg to make Reel to Reel, a movie musical about a movie musical.