Editing David Cronenberg (section)

==Unrealized projects==
One of Cronenberg's earliest unproduced film concepts was ''Roger Pagan, Gynecologist'', about a neurotic man who impersonates a medical expert.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tupper|first=Peter|url=https://thetyee.ca/ArtsAndCulture/2012/01/18/David-Cronenberg/|title=Can David Cronenberg Still Provoke?|website=[[The Tyee]]|date=January 18, 2012|access-date=September 21, 2024}}</ref> The project was initially conceived in the early 1970s in the form of a novel.

In the early 1980s Cronenberg attempted to make a film adaption of [[Mary Shelley]]'s ''[[Frankenstein]]'' that took place in the modern day.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=92}} Cronenberg wrote an original script for Universal after ''Videodrome'' titled ''Six Legs'', but the film was never made, although aspects were incorporated into ''The Fly'' and ''Naked Lunch''.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=119}}

Since the 1980s, Cronenberg had planned on directing a film called ''Red Cars'', about the [[1961 Formula One season|1961 Grand Prix automobile race]] won by [[Phil Hill]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://corona.bc.ca/films/details/brothertermite.html|title=Coming Attractions - Red Cars|publisher=[[IGN]]|date=June 22, 2000|access-date=April 13, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011116140317/http://corona.bc.ca/films/details/redcars.html|archive-date=November 16, 2001|url-status=dead}}</ref> Unable to get the project funded, he adapted his screenplay in the form of an artbook, [[Red Cars|published in 2005]].

Cronenberg was offered the role of director for ''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]'' while it was under the name ''Come Home'', but declined as he "could never be a fan of the Amish". He was also offered the director's position for ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'', ''[[Flashdance]]'', ''[[Top Gun]]'', and ''[[Beverly Hills Cop]]''.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=116}}{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=119}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Seibold|first=Whitney|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/867790/the-projects-you-didnt-know-david-cronenberg-turned-down/|title=The Projects You Didn't Know David Cronenberg Turned Down|website=[[/Film]]|date=May 18, 2022|access-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref> Marc Boyman offered Cronenberg the position of director for ''[[The Incubus (film)|The Incubus]]'', but declined although this led to Boyman producing ''The Fly'' and ''Dead Ringers''.{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=136}}

Cronenberg also worked for nearly a year on a version of ''[[Total Recall (1990 film)|Total Recall]]'' (1990), but experienced "creative differences" with producers [[Dino De Laurentiis]] and [[Ronald Shusett]]; a different version of the film was eventually made by [[Paul Verhoeven]]. Cronenberg related in his 1992 memoir, ''Cronenberg on Cronenberg'' that, as a fan of [[Philip K. Dick]]—author of "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale", the short story upon which the film was based— his dissatisfaction with what he envisioned the film to be and what it ended up being pained him so greatly that, for a time, he suffered a [[migraine]] just thinking about it, akin to a needle piercing his eye.<ref name="Cronenberg, David 1992">{{cite book|author=Cronenberg, David|title=Cronenberg on Cronenberg|date=1992|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/901380.Cronenberg_On_Cronenberg|isbn=9780571144365|publisher=Faber & Faber}}</ref>

In 1993, Cronenberg signed a deal with [[Paragon Entertainment Corporation]] in which he would create a six-part television series called ''Crimes Against Nature'' for [[CBC Television]]. Cronenberg described the series as "[[William S. Burroughs|William Burroughs]] meets [[Jean-Luc Godard]]'s ''[[Alphaville (film)|Alphaville]]''."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Murray|first=Karen|url=https://variety.com/1993/tv/news/cronenberg-commits-crimes-108851/|title=Cronenberg commits 'Crimes'|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=July 20, 1993|access-date=February 4, 2025}}</ref> He started writing it on August 1, and filming was meant to begin in February 1994 using 35&nbsp;mm film. The show was set in 2010 and was about members of the "Flesh Squad" police force. Carol Reynolds, the president of Paragon Entertainment, stated that each episode would cost between $500,000-600,000.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McCann |first=Wendy |date=August 26, 1993 |title=Cronenberg brings brand of terror to CBC series |page=D2 |work=[[The StarPhoenix]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-phoenix/154002503/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826230329/https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-phoenix/154002503/ |archive-date=August 26, 2024 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 26, 1993 |title=Cronenberg to produce suspense TV series |page=B4 |work=[[Toronto Star]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star/154063707/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826230431/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star/154063707/ |archive-date=August 26, 2024 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

In the mid-1990s, he was attached to direct a version of ''[[American Psycho (film)|American Psycho]]'', with a screenplay adaptation by the author himself [[Bret Easton Ellis]] and with [[Brad Pitt]] starring in the role of [[Patrick Bateman]]. Cronenberg's vision of the film would have concluded with a musical number involving [[Barry Manilow]]'s "[[Daybreak (Barry Manilow song)|Daybreak]]" and Bateman on the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Molloy |first1=Tim |title=American Psycho: An Oral History, 20 Years After Its Divisive Debut |url=https://www.moviemaker.com/american-psycho-anniversary-oral-history-christian-bale-mary-harron-bret-easton-ellis/ |website=[[MovieMaker]] |access-date=April 10, 2022 |date=April 14, 2020 |pages=1–4}}</ref>

In 1998, author [[Patricia Anthony]] stated that Cronenberg would direct the adaptation of her novel ''[[Brother Termite]]'' written by [[John Sayles]], and to be executive produced by [[James Cameron]]. The premise follows an alien race that co-exists with man on Earth, influencing human society.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://corona.bc.ca/films/details/brothertermite.html|title=Coming Attractions - Brother Termite|publisher=[[IGN]]|date=February 28, 2001|access-date=April 13, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011116122232/http://corona.bc.ca/films/details/brothertermite.html|archive-date=November 16, 2001|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1999, Cronenberg was reportedly interested in taking the helm of [[Charlie Kaufman]]'s adaptation of ''[[Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (film)|Confessions of Dangerous Mind]]'', with [[Sean Penn]] at that time circling to star.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Shaw|first=Jessica|url=https://ew.com/article/1999/07/30/re-best-unproduced-screenplays/|title=Re: Best Unproduced Screenplays|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=July 30, 1999|access-date=August 6, 2024}}</ref> The following year, he was circling to direct ''[[Basic Instinct 2]]'' for which he had a "good script" and [[Rupert Everett]] in the lead, but [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] said no because the actor is gay.<ref>{{cite web|last=Constantine|first=Zade|url=https://thefilmstage.com/watch-david-cronenberg-discusses-his-filmmaking-process-in-recent-one-hour-conversation/|title=Watch: David Cronenberg Discusses His Filmmaking Process In Recent One-Hour Conversation|website=The Film Stage|date=March 11, 2014|access-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref> At one stage, Cronenberg was going to make ''[[The Singing Detective (film)|The Singing Detective]]'' as a [[horror film]], with [[Al Pacino]] starring.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} In 2004, Cronenberg was attached to direct ''[[London Fields (film)|London Fields]]'', based on [[Martin Amis]]' [[London Fields (novel)|1991 novel of the same name]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Brodesser|first=Claude|url=https://variety.com/2004/film/news/london-calls-cronenberg-1117902034/|title='London' calls Cronenberg|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 21, 2004|access-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref>

In the mid-2000s, Cronenberg had adapted and was planning to direct an adaptation of ''[[The White Hotel]]'' by [[D. M. Thomas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/aug/28/books.featuresreviews|title=Celluloid dreams|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=August 27, 2004|access-date=March 4, 2025}}</ref>

For a time it appeared that, as ''[[Eastern Promises]]'' producer Paul Webster told [[Screen International]], a sequel was in the works that would reunite the key team of Cronenberg, [[Steven Knight]], and Viggo Mortensen. It was slated for production by Webster's new company ''Shoebox Films'' in collaboration with [[Focus Features]], and shot in early 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screendaily.com/reports/one-on-one/paul-webster/5040550.article?blocktitle=One-On-One&contentID=1799
|title=Paul Webster|website=Screen International|access-date=April 23, 2012}}</ref> In 2012, Cronenberg said the ''Eastern Promises'' sequel had fallen through due to budget disagreement with [[Focus Features]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Taylor|first1=Drew|title=Exclusive: David Cronenberg Shares Details Of Canceled 'Eastern Promises 2' & 'The Fly' Remake|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/12/exclusive-david-cronenberg-shares-details-of-canceled-eastern-promises-2-the-fly-remake-250273/|access-date=January 19, 2018|agency=IndieWire|publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC|date=December 14, 2012}}</ref>

In 2010, it was announced that Cronenberg would be directing an adaption of ''[[As She Climbed Across the Table]]'' by [[Jonathan Lethem]]. The following year, [[Media Rights Capital]] picked up the project, with [[Bruce Wagner]] set to write the script.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fischeraug|first=Russ|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/516939/david-cronenbergs-black-hole-thriller/|title=MRC Gets Behind David Cronenberg Adaptation Of Jonathan Lethem's 'As She Climbed Across The Table'|website=[[/Film]]|date=August 5, 2011|access-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref>

In the October 2011 edition of ''[[Rue Morgue (magazine)|Rue Morgue]]'', Cronenberg stated that he has written a companion piece to his 1986 remake of ''The Fly'', which he would like to direct if given the chance. He has stated that it is not a traditional sequel, but rather a "parallel story".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Versions of The Fly that Didn't Fly|url=http://www.untoldhorror.ca/2017/03/15/versions-of-the-fly-that-didnt-fly/|last=UntoldHorror|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref>

In March 2012, [[Media Rights Capital]] announced that Cronenberg would be directing and executive producing the [[television pilot]] ''Knifeman'', adapted by [[Rolin Jones]] and [[Ron Fitzgerald]] from [[Wendy Moore]]'s 2005 novel about a radical [[surgeon]] who goes to extraordinary lengths to uncover secrets of the human body.<ref>{{cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Mike |date=12 March 2012 |title=MRC Teams With David Cronenberg & Sam Raimi For 'Knifeman' Series Project |url=https://deadline.com/2012/03/mrc-teams-with-david-cronenberg-sam-raimi-for-knifeman-series-project-243086/ |access-date=5 May 2019 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref>

As of 2022, Cronenberg was working to turn his novel ''[[Consumed (novel)|Consumed]]'' into his next film.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Keslassy|first=Elsa|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/david-cronenberg-cannes-interview-crimes-of-the-future-walkouts-netflix-1235267464/|title=David Cronenberg Breaks Down Cannes Walkouts, His New Film's Sexuality, and Why Netflix Turns Him Down|magazine=Variety|date=May 16, 2022|access-date=April 14, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ruimy|first=Jordan|url=https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2019/10/david-cronenberg-may-soon-be-un-retiring-for-a-netflix-series-based-on-his-own-novel|title=David Cronenberg to Write-Direct Netflix Mini-Series Based on His Own Novel 'Consumed' [Nouveau Cinema]|website=World of Reel|date=October 11, 2019|access-date=April 14, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ruimy|first=Jordan|url=https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/12/18/david-cronenbergs-next-film-might-be-consumed|title=David Cronenberg's Next Film Might Be 'Consumed'|website=World of Reel|date=December 18, 2024|access-date=April 13, 2025}}</ref>