During his long career, American filmmaker David Leitch 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 see life under a different production team.
2010s
Rain TV series On August 18, 2014, Leitch was set to executive produce Rain, the television series adaptation of Barry Eisler’s John Rain action thriller book series, with Eisler, Chad Stahelski, and Keanu Reeves executive producing with Slingshot Global Media, and Reeves set to lead the series.
Cowboy Ninja Viking film On January 29, 2015, Leitch and Chad Stahelski were set to co-direct the feature film adaptation of A.J. Lieberman and Riley Rossmo’s graphic novel Cowboy Ninja Viking with Chris Pratt set to lead the film, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese co-writing the screenplay and producing with Mark Gordon, Guymon Casady and Ben Forkner, and Universal Pictures distributing the film. But on January 31, 2018, the duo were ultimately replaced by Michelle MacLaren as the director.
Medieval On February 20, 2015, Leitch and Chad Stahelski were set to co-direct the action film Medieval, with Michael Finch and Alex Litvak writing the script and Neal H. Moritz producing the film for Columbia Pictures, after Rob Cohen's attempt to make the movie failed at 20th Century Fox & New Regency.
Bloodshot film
On April 21, 2015, Leitch was set to co-direct with Chad Stahelski the superhero film Bloodshot with Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer writing the script and Neal H. Moritz, Valiant Comics COO Dinesh Shamdasani & DMG Media producing the film for Columbia Pictures. But on March 5, 2017, David S. F. Wilson was hired to direct the movie.
Enter the Dragon remake/sequel On July 23, 2018, Leitch was in talks to direct the remake of Robert Clouse’s martial arts film Enter the Dragon with Warner Bros. handling distribution, but on April 22, 2019, it was reported to be a sequel to the martial arts classic, rather than a remake/reiteration of the Bruce Lee classic.
Undying Love film
Friday Black film On February 20, 2019, Leitch was set to produce the feature film adaptation of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s Friday Black short story collection with Adjei-Brenyah writing the screenplay & executive producing in collaboration with 87North & Universal Pictures handling distribution.
Versus On August 1, 2019, Leitch was set to produce the action thriller Versus, with Michael Finch and Alex Litvak writing the script and Kelly McCormick producing the film with Litvak & Finch for Universal Pictures, and in October that same year, Jeremy Rush was confirmed to direct the film.
2020s
Kung Fu film On January 21, 2020, Leitch was set to direct and executive produce the feature film adaptation of Ed Spielman’s martial arts television series Kung Fu with Spielman executive producing with 87North’s Kelly McCormick, Solipsist Films’ Stephen L’Hereaux & Universal Pictures handling distribution. but on January 31, 2024, it was reported that Donnie Yen is starring as the lead, Stephin Chin was hired to write the screenplay and Guy Danella joined the producers.
My Victory at Dakar On April 20, 2020, Leitch was set to produce My Victory at Dakar, the sports biopic of motorcyclist Jutta Kleinschmidt, with Greta Heinemann writing the screenplay, and David Kaufmann’s Devonsheer Media producing in collaboration with 87North & Amblin Partners.
My Friend Pedro TV series On July 2, 2020, Leitch was set to executive produce the half-hour dramady television series adaptation of Victor Agren’s video game My Friend Pedro, with Derek Kolstad writing and executive producing the series with 87North’s Kelly McCormick, Dmitri M. Johnson’s DJ2 Entertainment, Legendary Television, Stephan Bugaj, Howard Bliss; and Devolver Digital’s Michael S. Wilson.
Hot Air TV miniseries On July 15, 2022, Leitch was set to direct & executive produce Hot Air, the television miniseries adaptation of Martyn Gregory’s biography Dirty Trick, with Jon Croker writing the miniseries and Andrew Garfield set to portray Branson & executive producing the miniseries with Croker, 87North’s Kelly McCormick & Daniel Seligmann, Babak Anvari and Lucan Toh’s Two&Two, & StoryFirst’s Michael Grade, Peter Gerwe, & Ivan Dunleavy, and Universal International Studios.
Bang! film On August 3, 2022, Leitch was set to direct and executive produce the feature film adaptation of Matt Kindt and Wilfredo Torres’ thriller comic book Bang!, with Kindt & Zak Olkewicz writing the screenplay, Idris Elba attached to star in and produce the movie with Dark Horse Entertainment’s Mike Richardson, Keith Goldberg, and Kelly McCormick through 87North and Netflix will handle distribution.
Red Shirt On November 17, 2022, Leitch was set to direct and executive produce Simon Kinberg’s spy thriller pitch Red Shirt, with Channing Tatum attached to star in and produce the movie with Kinberg, Leitch, and Kelly McCormick, and eleven days later, Red Shirt was acquired by Amazon MGM Studios.
Jurassic World: Rebirth
Button Man TV series On May 3, 2024, Leitch was set to executive produce and maybe direct the television series adaptation of John Wagner & Arthur Ranson’s Button Man graphic novel, with Kelly McCormick and Dan Seligmann executive producing through 87North in collaboration with Fifth Season, along with Alex Jackson, Roger Kass, Wagner & Ranson.
References
External links