Alexandre Aja's unrealized projects
During his long career, French filmmaker Alexandre Aja has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially canceled, were in development limbo or would later be developed by a different production team.
2000s
[edit]The Waiting
[edit]On November 2, 2005, Aja was set to direct Juliet Snowden and Stiles White’s supernatural horror-thriller screenplay The Waiting, with Grégory Levasseur executive producing with Maddalena Films and Gold Circle Films for Rogue Pictures.[1]
Black Hole film
[edit]On March 8, 2006, Aja was set to direct the feature film adaptation of Charles Burns' graphic novel Black Hole with Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary co-writing the screenplay and Plan B Entertainment & MTV Films producing the film for Paramount Pictures.[2]
The Gospel According to Jimmy film
[edit]On October 4, 2006, Aja was set to direct, write, and produce the feature film adaptation of The Gospel According to Jimmy, with Alexandre Films producing the adaptation.[3]
The Contractor/The Contractors
[edit]On March 12, 2009, Aja was set to direct the action thriller The Contractor with Ian Jeffers writing a draft, and Alexandra Milchan producing the movie & Gaumont set to distribute.[4] In 2010, the movie was retitled The Contractors.[5][6]
2010s
[edit]Live-action Cobra film
[edit]On May 2, 2011, Aja was set to direct the live-action film adaptation of Cobra: The Space Pirate with Aja co-writing the screenplay with Grégory Levasseur, and Levasseur producing with Aton Soumache, Dimitri Rassam, Alexandra Milchan, Marc Sessego, Andree Cornier for Onyx,[7] but on March 14, 2018, Aja revealed on the podcast Post Mordem with Mick Garris that he left the movie because of a regime change at Lionsgate Films and the similiaties to Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.[8]
Scanners TV series
[edit]On July 22, 2011, Aja was set to possibly direct and executive produce the television series adaptation of David Cronenberg's film Scanners with Dimension Television producing the series,[9] until September 21, 2022, when HBO started development without Aja's involvement.[10]
Undying Love film
[edit]On March 2, 2012, Aja was set to direct the feature film adaptation of Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman's graphic novel Undying Love with Michael De Luca, Stephen L’Heureux and Benderspink producing the film,[11] but was replaced by Joe Carnahan[12] and David Leitch, respectively.[13]
Les Sentinelles film
[edit]On July 1, 2014, Aja was set to produce Julien Mokrani's feature film adaptation of Xavier Dorison & Enrique Breccia's graphic novel Les Sentinelles with Pavlina Hatoupis and Alix Taylor producing along with Aja.[14]
Wedding Gown
[edit]On October 27, 2014, Aja was set to direct Wedding Gown, with Aja co-writing the script with Maxime Giffard and Jon Crocker, and produced by Aja's company.[15]
The Marquis film
[edit]On June 1, 2016, Aja was set to direct and write the feature film adaptation of Jean Teulé’s romantic novel The Marquis, with Gaumont and LGM Cinema producing the film.[16]
Smart House
[edit]On April 20, 2017, Aja was set to direct Brad Keene’s thriller screenplay Smart House with James Wan’s Atomic Monster producing the film and Summit Entertainment will distribute.[17]
Mice & Mystics film
[edit]On October 24, 2018, Aja was set to direct an animated film adaptation of Jerry Hawthorne’s board game Mice & Mystics with David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Aja writing the screenplay, Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Jon Berg producing in collaboration with DreamWorks Animation.[18]
American Tomie streaming series
[edit]On July 24, 2019, Aja was set to direct and produce the American television adaptation of Junji Ito’s manga Tomie with David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick writing the series, Sony Pictures Television producing in collaboration with Universal Content Productions, and Quibi set to distribute.[19] On July 9, 2020, Adeline Rudolph was cast as the lead of the series,[20] but the series was canceled because Quibi shut down and is unknown if it would find another distributor.[21]
Interactive haunted house film
[edit]On August 14, 2019, Aja was set to direct an haunted house film from a screenplay by Jeff Howard with Mike Flanagan getting story credit, and would be produced with Amblin Entertainment.[22]
2020s
[edit]Elijah
[edit]On November 19, 2020, Aja was set to direct Cory Goldman’s horror thriller script Elijah, with Aja and Grégory Levasseur rewriting the script, David Goyer’s Phantom Four & Adam Goldworm’s Aperture Entertainment producing the film and Searchlight Pictures distributing the film.[23]
Mr. Thisforthat feature film
[edit]On February 17, 2021, Aja was set to produce Thomas Mendolia's feature film remake of his short film Mr. Thisforthat, with Michael Karr writing the script, and Craig Flores' Bread & Circuses, Peter Luo’s Stars Collective & Jake Wagner producing the feature film.[24]
References
[edit]- ^ Mohr, Ian (November 2, 2005). "Rogue wins rights race for 'Waiting'". Variety. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Weinberg, Scott (March 8, 2006). "GAIMAN, AVARY, AND AJA TO VISIT A "BLACK HOLE"". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ James, Allison (October 4, 2006). "'Gospel' according to helmer Aja". Variety. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Franklin, Gareth (March 12, 2009). "Alexandre Aja Hires A "Contractor"". Dark Horizons. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
- ^ John Hopewell; Elsa Keslassy (February 7, 2010). "French film companies shine at Berlin". Variety. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
which has a brace of English-language pics in development with U.S. producers Nick Wechsler and Alexandra Milchan, such as Alexandre Aja's "The Contractors."
- ^ Dave McNary (April 28, 2010). "Emjag, Platinum out for 'Blood'". Variety. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
She's developing Alexandre Aja's "The Contractors" with Gaumont,...
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (May 2, 2011). "Onyx boards Aja's 'Cobra'". Variety. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ Mick Garris (March 14, 2018). "Alexandre Aja". Podbean. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 22, 2011). "Dimension To Develop 'Scanners' TV Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ Kit, Borys (September 21, 2022). "David Cronenberg's 'Scanners' Heads to HBO as a Series With 'Black Mirror' Writer, 'Lovecraft Country' Director (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Dickson, Evan (March 2, 2012). "Alexandre Aja Has 'Undying Love' For You". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ Kit, Borys (November 27, 2012). "Joe Carnahan in Talks to Direct Vampire Action Project 'Undying Love'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (January 30, 2019). "David Leitch To Helm 'Undying Love;' Graphic Novel Moves To Studio 8". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ Brown, Todd (July 1, 2014). "Absolutely Gorgeous Concept Art For Julien Mokrani's Alex Aja Produced Adaptation Of French Graphic Novel LES SENTINELLES". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Miska, Brad (October 27, 2014). "Alex Aja Faces Evil In 'Wedding Gown'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Dave McNary (June 1, 2016). "Alexandre Aja Directing Romantic Drama 'The Marquis'". Variety. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (April 20, 2017). "Lionsgate Nabs Rights to James Wan's 'Smart House'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
- ^ Dave McNary (October 24, 2018). "DreamWorks Animation to Develop 'Mice and Mystics' Movie (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
- ^ Lopez, Matt (October 24, 2018). "Alexandre Aja, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick Bring 'Tomie' Live-Action Series to Quibi". The Wrap. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Petski, Denise (July 9, 2020). "Quibi Greenlights 'Tomie' Based On Horror Manga Series; Adeline Rudolph To Star". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Jill Goldsmith; Dade Hayes; Michael Fleming Jr. (October 23, 2020). "Assessing Quibi Debacle: Financiers Second Guess While A Film Crew Struggles To Finish A Production In Ukraine After Being Told To Shut Down". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Sneider, Jeff (August 14, 2019). "Exclusive: 'Crawl's Alexandre Aja to Direct Interactive Haunted House Movie for Amblin". Collider. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 19, 2020). "'Crawl' Filmmaker Alexandre Aja Directing 'Elijah' For Searchlight Pictures". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 17, 2021). "Horror Short 'Mr. Thisforthat' Getting Feature Take from Alexandre Aja, Craig Flores & Stars Collective". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 6, 2025.