For every Game of Thrones there's a Wheel of Time – major properties with a large fanbase that seem to be eternally discussed as TV shows, but never actually happen.
Welcome to development hell, that horrible section of the underworld where potential series languish permanently, engulfed in the flames of the forever unseen.
Here are some of the series-in-waiting that we want to binge as soon as possible...
1. Star Wars: Underworld
In 2008, George Lucas and Rick McCallum starting hyping up the first ever live-action Star Wars series, describing it as "Deadwood in space" and "Empire on steroids", which obviously sounds like the best thing ever.
"It's kind of like Episode IV – it's funny and there's action, but it's [a] lot more talky. It's more of what I would call a soap opera with a bunch of personal dramas in it," Lucas told Total Film magazine. "It's not really based on action-adventure films from the '30s – it's actually more based on film noir movies from the '40s!"
With 100 hours of TV planned, fans were levitating with excitement. Then… the situation changed, with Disney buying the Star Wars brand and ripping up everything Lucas had planned.
But, there is (a new) hope – with Disney developing its own streaming service, a live-action Star Wars project is still in the works. If Disney announced Underworld as the title of that project, fans everywhere would set off fireworks and play the drums on Stormtrooper helmets in supreme celebration. Make it happen, mouse.
2. Quantum Leap reboot
Waaaaay back in 2002, we were promised a Quantum Leap reboot that would put right what once went wrong, and give us some actual closure on a show that ended on the most annoying cliffhanger of all time.
In 2004, the new show's writer, Trey Callaway, gave an update on the plot. "Sam's daughter would team up with Al for a new incarnation of the series, with the long-ranging arc being her character attempts to find her father and bring him home once and for all."
We didn't realise how much we needed this until we read that synopsis.
3. The Wild Wild West
Yeah, we know, after the Will Smith / Kevin Kline movie, you never want to see another thing called 'Wild Wild West' again – but hold your (robot) horses, there is an element that makes us want this one to happen. In 2010, Battlestar Galactica executive producer Ron Moore announced that he was teaming with CSI executive producer Naren Shankar to bring the weird '60s Western series back to TV for CBS… and that was the last we heard of the project, until Moore updated us in 2013.
"Wild Wild West and Star Trek were two of my great loves," the showrunner said. "I watched both in syndication in the '70s. Wild Wild West was really interesting, that combination of genres – a Western and secret agent, and they dabbled in the occult and paranormal. I really wanted to do a new version for CBS. I still think it's a great property. Someday I hope to go back to it."
After the success of Westworld, it could still happen. Until then, at least we've still got Will Smith's incredible theme song, which was the only good thing to come out of the movie (you can watch the music video above).
4. Moon Knight
It's been 12 years since Marvel announced it was developing a live-action Moon Knight series, and a decade since writer Jon Cooksey confirmed he was working on it. But it appears that the show might FINALLY make it to TV. Well, to iPads mainly, as Steven S DeKnight is interested in developing it for Netflix.
"I wouldn't mind taking a crack at Moon Knight at some point," the director said. "There are so many characters that I love in the Marvel universe. Really, for me, it would be about schedule. My schedule these days, as you imagine, is a little tight. God, you know, when I signed on to Daredevil, I expressed an interest in Iron Fist and The Punisher, which I both loved. I'd love to see Moon Knight get a little bit of love. Great, great character."
5. Night Thrasher
This relatively obscure Marvel comic is absolutely awesome – and totally ripe for a telly reboot. A UPN show was announced in 2002, with the concept described as being "a superhero for today's generation". Sixteen years later we're in a completely different generation, but the character is more relevant than ever.
One of Marvel's all-too-rare black lead heroes, Thrasher is basically their equivalent of Batman – witnessing his rich parents get murdered drove him to train himself so he could take on criminals at their own game, in a violent wave of vigilante justice – but even better, because one of his signature weapons is a skateboard.
The character will finally been seen in a series – the upcoming New Warriors, where he'll be played by Jeremy Tardy – but we still want the character to lead his own show.
6. Tales From The Crypt reboot
In early 2016, horror fans giggled more crazily than a Crypt Keeper when a Tales from the Crypt reboot was announced – and the news came with a twist: director M Night Shyamalan would be heading up the project.
"I couldn't be more excited to be teaming up with Kevin Reilly, Sarah Aubrey and the entire TNT team in this unique endeavour," Shyamalan said in a statement. "To be part of such a beloved brand like Tales from the Crypt, something I grew up watching, and to also have the chance to push the boundaries of genre television as a whole, is an inspiring opportunity that I can't wait to dive into."
Sadly, Shyamalan didn't get the chance to take that dive, with rights issues putting the project on hold, possibly indefinitely.
"It's been fun with lawyers, it's been really fun," Reilly told Deadline. "We did not know from the get-go or else we would not have announced it and made a big deal out of it. But in fact there were rights. It is among the most — if not the most — complicated rights structure I've ever seen in my career, and we had no idea as we got into it. It became a nightmare. So we said, 'Fine'. If and when this gets cleaned up, we'll revisit."
7. Locke & Key
Yet another telly project that's been talked about for so long that streaming services didn't exist when it was first announced, horror comic Locke & Key's latest adaptation hope, Hulu, officially passed on the project recently.
Lead Samantha Mathis revealed the news, saying to Cultured Vultures: "I did a pilot for Hulu called Locke and Key but it didn't get picked up by Hulu. It's getting shopped around to Amazon and Netflix and Apple and everyone right now. Who knows, maybe that will end up some place."
It isn't the first pilot of the property that's been made – Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go) directed a launch episode back in 2011, starring Miranda Otto and Nick Stahl, which Fox ultimately passed on. You can check out the trailer above, which is probably the only Locke & Key footage you'll get to watch in the foreseeable future.
Freelancer writer
Sam is an entertainment writer with NCTJ accreditation and a twenty-year career as a film journalist.
Starting out as a staff writer at Total Film, moving up to Deputy Online Editor, Sam was responsible for Total Film’s YouTube channel, where he revolutionised the magazine’s approach to video junkets, creating influential formats that spread to other outlets.
He’s interviewed a wide range of film icons, including directors such as David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Ridley Scott, Michael Bay and Sam Raimi, as well as actors such as Meryl Streep, Nic Cage, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman, Kermit the Frog, all of the Avengers and many more.
Sam has also interviewed several comic creators, including Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and he has a zombie cameo in The Walking Dead comic.
In 2014, Sam went freelance, working directly for film studios including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and Disney, as well as covering red carpet events for film marketing company PMA Productions.
Sam is the co-host, producer and editor of the Arrow Video podcast, which has seen year-on-year growth since its creation in 2017, gaining over half a million listens in that time.
His byline has appeared in outlets such as Yahoo, MTV, Dazed, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Good Housekeeping among others.
In 2012, Sam made it to the final of the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year competition, and went on to become a filmmaker himself, directing three features that have all played major festivals, and secured distribution – starring in two of them.
Jim Carrey once mistook Sam for Johnny Cash, and John Carpenter told him to ‘Keep up the good work.’ He promises to try his best.
