4 Movies That Were Unexpectedly Cancelled

With many still trying to absorb the impact of Sony Pictures opting to cancel The Interview entirely, the controversy is completely understandable for a number of reasons. For one, it brings up questions of hackers and whether or not this gives them leverage, the rights to free speech and it also brings to light the emphasis being placed on a fictitious film. For a movie that was highly anticipated to be suddenly canceled so close to being released is something to marvel at, no matter how you feel about the decision, simply because a film being canceled is quite a rare occurrence.

However, it's certainly not a new thing. The Interview may very well be the only film of its magnitude to suffer this fate, but is it the only film to ever be cancelled? No, it's not but one of the things that differentiates this film from the majority of its predecessors is the fact that they were pulled long before they reached the point at which Sony opted to cancel The Interview. And amongst the few films that have failed to reach the big screen in the past, it appears that none of them were scrapped for reasons anywhere remotely close to being threatened by hackers.

Revenge of the Nerds sequel

In 2006, after only two weeks into filming, production for the remake of 1984's Revenge of the Nerds came to a sudden halt. The Fox Atomic film was permanently canned after losing its location and the support of the studio execs.

Several Godzilla films

If there was a designated final resting place for cancelled films, "Godzilla" would have its own VIP section. This franchise refuses to go down without a fight. Over the past several decades, multiple Godzilla films have flopped long before they finished production. Luckily, fans of the movie can expect to be terrorized in the summer of 2015 with the release of yet another Godzilla film.

Sprockets

Based on a Saturday Night Live sketch, Myers reportedly didn't like the script and left the project prior to filming. This subsequently led to a legal battle between the actor and Universal Pictures.

Macbeth

This film would've made celebrated director Laurence Olivier's fourth Shakespearean tale to make a big screen debut, but it ultimately bit the dust in 1958 when proper financing eluded him. Like Godzilla, Macbeth will experience a resurrection in 2015 with a big-screen release, although the modern version will feature new writers.Whether The Interview becomes a permanent fixture on this list remains to be seen.Images: Giphy (3)