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'Solaris' (2002) -

The sci-fi movie starring George Clooney and Natascha McElhone was almost directed by James Cameron. The director held the rights to make the remake of Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 movie. 

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'Solaris' (2002) -

An agreement was reached where James Cameron would produce the movie and Steven Soderbergh would sit in the director's chair.  

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'Schindler’s List' (1993) -

The famous Holocaust movie was almost directed by Martin Scorsese. In fact, it was Steven Spielberg (who ended up directing the movie) who passed on the movie to Scorsese. 

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'Schindler’s List' (1993) -

Spielberg eventually changed his mind because he felt he would have"given away a chance to do something for [his] children and family about the Holocaust."

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'Cape Fear' (1991) -

Martin Scorsese lost out on directing 'Schindler’s List,' but Steven Spielberg made up for it by handing him 'Cape Fear.'

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'Cape Fear' (1991) -

The trade paid off, and both movies fitted the directors' styles like gloves. In 2023, it was announced that both Scorsese and Spielberg were lined up as executive producers of a TV series adaptation of 'Cape Fear.'  

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'Dune' (1984) -

Frank Herbert's sci-fi series has always been challenging to adapt, but David Lynch eventually pulled it off in 1984. Before he did, 'Dune' was almost directed by Ridley Scott.

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'Dune' (1984) -

Scott was initially hired by producer Dino De Laurentiis and he even worked on the script. Ultimately, the studio ended up cutting costs and Ridley Scott abandoned the project.  

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'Alien: Resurrection' (1997) -

Jean-Pierre Jeunet certainly gave his own twist to the franchise with 'Alien: Resurrection,' but the movies almost ended up being done by another '90s director.  

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'Alien: Resurrection' (1997) -

We're talking about 'Trainspotting' (1996) director Danny Boyle. The British director was reluctant to move forward due to the large scale of the film, including the large amount of special effects it'd require.  

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'Spider-Man' (2002) -

Sam Raimi did an amazing job with 'Spider-Man,' so it's hard to imagine what the movie would look like if it was directed by Chris Columbus instead. 

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'Spider-Man' (2002) -

Columbus had two huge offers on the table at the time: to direct 'Spider-Man' and 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' (2001). He ended up going with the latter. 

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'Good Will Hunting' (1997) -

The Oscar-winning movie starring Robin Williams, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck was almost directed by Mel Gibson.

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'Good Will Hunting' (1997) -

Mel Gibson took his time, and after months of waiting, Damon and Affleck (who wrote the screenplay) asked him if they could move forward and find another director. Gibson agreed. Gus Van Sant directed the film, and the rest is cinema history!

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'Dallas Buyers Club' (2013) -

This movie about the AIDS epidemic in '80s America starring Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto almost had an entirely different director: Marc Forster.

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'Dallas Buyers Club' (2013) -

In the early 2000s, the director, as well as actor Brad Pitt, were on board to do the movie, but the project never went ahead. Jean-Marc Vallée directed it in the end, and he did an amazing job. 

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'A.I.: Artificial Intelligence' (2001) -

Director Stanley Kubrick worked on the movie for a number of years but it never got made. Kubrick eventually handed it to Steven Spielberg in the mid-1990s.

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'A.I.: Artificial Intelligence' (2001) -

Stanley Kubrick died in 1999 and Spielberg went ahead with the film as a tribute to him. 

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'Total Recall' (1990) -

This sci-fi movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was almost directed by David Cronenberg. 

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'Total Recall' (1990) -

Cronenberg worked on a number of different scripts over a year before abandoning the project. He also wanted William Hurt to star, instead of Schwarzenegger. In the end, the movie was directed by Paul Verhoeven.

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'Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi' (1983) -

George Lucas chose Richard Marquand to direct this iconic episode of the 'Star Wars' trilogy, but Marquand wasn't his first choice. 

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'Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi' (1983) -

George Lucas wanted to recruit David Lynch for the job, but he declined the offer. 

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'The Godfather' (1972) -

Paramount wanted an Italian to direct 'The Godfather,' and their first choice was Sergio Leone. The director didn't take on the movie because he thought it glorified the mafia too much. 

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'The Godfather' (1972) -

Francis Ford Coppola ended up directing Mario Puzo's story, and the rest is history. 

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'Jurassic Park' (1993) -

Warner Bros tried to acquire the rights for Michael Crichton's sci-fi novel. Had the studio been successful, 'Jurassic Park' would have been directed by Tim Burton.

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'Jurassic Park' (1993) -

One can only imagine what that would have looked like. In the end, Universal got the rights and they hired Steven Spielberg to direct it. 

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'Titanic' (1997) -

When Alfred Hitchcock got his first US studio deal with David Selznick back in 1938, there were talks about making a movie about the sinking of Titanic. It would've been called 'Titanic.'

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'Titanic' (1997) -

Rumor has it that there were even plans to buy an ocean liner and sink it for real! The movie eventually came to fruition decades later in 1997 under the direction of James Cameron.

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'Man of Steel' (2013) -

'Man of Steel' was almost directed by Darren Aronofsky, but the director had already committed to 'Noah' (2014) and couldn't do both.

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'Man of Steel' (2013) -

Zack Snyder was brought in to direct the movie instead, and proved to be the right choice. 

Sources: (Listverse) (Shortlist)

See also: The worst movies made by the best directors

© NL Beeld