Film directors have their own unique vision, which they use to bring scripts to life on the big screen. Hollywood's most iconic directors each have a signature style reflected across the entire body of work. While certain films have become synonymous with their directors, some of those legendary projects almost took on a very different look and feel.
Directors sometimes have to give up a project to honor prior commitments or are offered projects that don't fit their artistic vision. In those instances, a different director takes on the film project, and audiences are left wondering what their favorite movie might have looked like with its original director at the helm.
10 David Fincher Almost Directed Batman Begins
Batman Begins was the first of three unforgettable films in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, but fans might be surprised to know that the iconic, Oscar-winning film trilogy almost didn't happen. This is because Christopher Nolan wasn't the top choice for the project at first.
Before Nolan signed on to direct Batman Begins, producers at Warner Brothers had their eye on director David Fincher. Luckily for Christopher Nolan (and Dark Knight Fans), David Fincher ultimately decided that the project wasn't a good fit for him and turned it down.
9 Steven Spielberg Almost Directed Rain Man
Rain Man was the top-grossing movie of 1988, and it remains a classic to this day. The film stars Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. Barry Levinson directed the movie, but Steven Spielberg had originally signed on to direct the film.
Even though he was deeply invested in the project, Spielberg had to pull out of directing Rain Man because of schedule conflicts with the upcoming Indiana Jones franchise installment, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. The director has repeatedly expressed regrets about having to step away from the Oscar-winning movie.
8 Martin Scorsese Almost Directed Clockers
Spike Lee's 1995 crime drama, Clockers, is among his most well-loved films. The movie is an adaptation of a novel with the same title, written by Richard Price. Spike Lee and Richard Price co-wrote the script, which resulted in a film that was very true to its source material. However, the movie would've been very different if it had been made by its original director: Martin Scorsese.
Scorsese ultimately decided to step away from Clockers in order to focus on directing Casino. Since both movies are fan favorites in their own rights, this was ultimately a great decision.
7 Ridley Scott Almost Directed Dune (1984)
Before the epic 2021 film Dune came into being, Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel had its first film adaptation in 1984. The original Dune adaptation was directed by David Lynch, and it was a very lengthy project by all accounts. However, several other directors were also considered for the project, including Ridley Scott.
In an interview, Scott stated that he turned down the project due to poor studio conditions in Mexico City. The 1984 version of Dune underperformed at the box office, and it's impossible to know if a Ridley Scott version of the film would've succeeded, either.
6 David Lynch Almost Directed Return Of The Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi was the final installment of the original Star Wars trilogy. The film soared to the top of the box office the year it premiered and is still a popular film today. While George Lucas worked on the screenplay for every movie in the original trilogy, he only directed A New Hope.
Richard Marquand worked closely with Lucas while directing Return of the Jedi, but the film almost had a director with a very different style: David Lynch. Lynch wasn't interested enough in the project to take it on, so fans can only speculate as to what the director's unique style would have brought to the film series.
5 Danny Boyle Almost Directed Alien: Resurrection
In the late 90s, director Danny Boyle was riding high on the success of his film, Trainspotting, when Fox approached him about directing Alien: Resurrection. Boyle was initially interested in the project due to his love of Joss Whedon's script.
Boyle ultimately couldn't agree with the studio over creative control and thus, turned down their offer to direct the 1997 movie. Jean-Pierre Jeunet eventually took on the Alien: Resurrection project instead, and Danny Boyle went on to direct many other successful films of his own.
4 Tim Burton Almost Directed Jurassic Park
Before Michael Crichton's novel Jurassic Park became a film, the rights to the book were the subject of a bidding war between Warner Brothers and Universal. Eventually, Universal secured the rights and handed the project over to Steven Spielberg, who adapted the novel into a commercially successful blockbuster film in 1993.
If Warner Brothers had secured the rights instead of Universal, the project would've gone to director Tim Burton. Spielberg and Burton have vastly different directorial styles, so Burton's Jurassic Park certainly would've looked far different from the Spielberg classic fans love.
3 Peter Bogdanovich Almost Directed The Exorcist
Several directors were approached to bring The Exorcist to life, but many turned it down without ever looking back. However, director Peter Bogdanovich later regretted not participating in the project. The director turned down the movie to work on other projects, and William Fredkin ultimately took on the directorial role.
Author William Peter Blatty had a major role in the decision-making process for who would bring his novel to the big screen. Ultimately, he chose Fredkin because of his directing style in the film The French Connection.
2 Dick Richards Almost Directed Jaws
Jaws was one of the films that put director Steven Spielberg on the map in his early career, but the project almost went to a different filmmaker entirely. Dick Richards was at the top of the studio's list to direct the film, and he worked on the project for a short time.
Strangely enough, Dick Richards seemed intent on making a very different kind of movie. He reportedly referred to Bruce The Shark as a whale throughout his time working on the project. Of course, Jaws is a movie about shark attacks, not whales, and the difference in creative vision resulted in the studio replacing Richards with Spielberg.
1 Sergio Leone Almost Directed The Godfather
Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather is such an iconic film that it's hard to imagine any other director in his place. However, that's almost exactly what happened. The head of Paramount Pictures didn't place Coppola at the top of his list to direct the film. Instead, the studio focused on director Sergio Leone. However, Leone turned down the project to focus on his own film, Once Upon A Time In America.
Coppola hesitantly accepted the directorial role despite misgivings about the film's violent nature, and production was rocky at best. However, Coppola succeeded in creating a true American classic, which still stands as one of the best films ever made.