12 Comic Book Movies Plagued By Troubled Productions & BTS Drama

Several comic book movies from both Marvel and DC have been plagued by trouble productions and behind-the-scenes drama over the years. Modern superhero films are among Hollywood’s most profitable projects. As a result, superhero films are usually synonymous with big-budget, hight-stakes projects, which sometimes can lead to complicated productions.
The list of superhero films that had troubled production is not limited to a specific franchise and includes the MCU, the DCEU, non-MCU Marvel movies, and non-DCEU DC projects. Creative differences, budget issues, and other problems are among the reasons why these films had such difficult productions. From Ant-Man to Justice League, here are 12 comic book movies plagued by behind-the-scenes drama.
12 Ant-Man Ant-Man premiered in 2015 as part of the MCU’s Phase 2, yet plans for an Ant-Man movie go back to the 1980s when Stan Lee himself tried to bring the character into the big screen. A more solid Ant-Man movie project began to take form in 2001 when Edgar Wright wrote a treatment for a heist-like Ant-Man story. Edgar Wright continued attached to the Ant-Man movie for years to become, yet the project didn't become part of Marvel’s Phase 1 slate leading up to The Avengers. Unlike the comics, neither Ant-Man nor the Wasp were part of the Avengers’ first lineup in the MCU.
Edgar Wright’s Scott Lang-centered Ant-Man movie continued to be in development even after The Avengers. Some test footage sequences of Scott Lang in his Ant-Man suit had been made, and the movie was eyeing a July 2015 release date. However, just before filming started, Edgar Wright exited Ant-Man due to creative differences with Marvel Studios. While directors exiting blockbuster films due to creative differences would become quite common in major franchises, Wright exiting Ant-Man was significant news for a franchise that had seen mostly successful productions up until that point. Peyton Reed helmed Ant-Man instead and the film made it to its July 2015 release date.
11 Superman II Superman is often listed as one of the best superhero movies of all time, but its sequel, Superman II, had a very troubled production. Richard Donner was fired from Superman II following a clash with the producers, and Richard Lester was hired to complete the sequel. However, a significant portion of what was meant to be Superman II had already been filmed during the making of Superman. The idea was for Lester to reshoot the scenes Donner had already filmed, according to what the Directors Guild of America establishes. However, Lex Luthor actor Gene Hackman and Jor-El actor Marlon Brando reportedly refused to film those scenes.
As a result, Superman II had to combine scenes Richard Donner had filmed with the new ones directed by Richard Lester. In 2006, almost 30 years after Superman II premiered, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released. This version of the film restored as much footage from Donner’s time at the production as possible, although it had to use some scenes Lester filmed for Superman II for the movie to work. The Donner Cut of Superman II is quite different from the theatrical cut, and it summarizes how complicated the production of the Superman sequel was.
10 The Flash Even without considering the Flash movie projects from before the DCEU, The Flash had one of the most troubled productions in recent Hollywood history. A Flash movie set in the same continuity as Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was announced in late 2014 as part of Warner Bros.’ plans of creating a cinematic universe centered on the DC characters. Seth Grahame-Smith was the first director to be attached to this version of The Flash, yet the filmmaker exited the project on April 2016. A story treatment for The Flash had been previously written by Phill Lord and Chris Miller.


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