James Mangold's unrealized projects

The following is a list of unproduced James Mangold projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director James Mangold has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these productions fell in development hell or were cancelled.

Untitled film
In the 1980s, Mangold landed a development deal at Walt Disney Pictures, but was fired from his first directorial assignment three days into shooting.

The Rich Part of Life
In 2000, Columbia Pictures purchased the screen rights to Jim Kokoris' The Rich Part of Life with Mangold attached to adapt and direct the then-unpublished novel, and produce the film with Cathy Konrad.

Follow Me
In 2003, Mangold and producer Cathy Konrad formed Tree Line Films. Mangold himself was to have directed the production banner's first project, Follow Me, based upon the short story by Paul Griner about a woman who hires a surveillance man to follow her around with a camera.

The Sportswriter TV miniseries
In 2007, HBO announced that it was adapting Richard Ford's The Sportswriter novel trilogy into a six-hour miniseries to be directed by Mangold. All six hour-long episodes were written by Mark Bomback, and Mangold and his then-wife Cathy Konrad were to executive produce through their Tree Line production banner. Subsequently, HBO dropped their option, and any future plans to adapt the novels for the screen have been shelved.

The Wolfman
In February 2008, Mangold was one of several directors approached to replace Mark Romanek on The Wolfman. The studio ultimately went with Joe Johnston.

Cyclops
In March 2008, it was reported that the Alexis Nolent sci-fi graphic novel Cyclops was optioned by Warner Bros. to be adapted to film by Mangold. "It is an electrifying package you find in the best sci-fi," Mangold said, "Great action sequences combined with themes that are eminently foreseeable."

The Archive
In June 2008, Mangold was announced to direct playwright David Auburn's time-travel thriller pitch of The Archive for Universal Pictures.

Juliet
In January 2009, Mangold was signed by Universal to direct Juliet, based on the novel by Danish author Anne Fortier. In 2011, Paramount acquired the rights of the movie with the writers Eyal Podell, Jonathon E. Stewart, Aryan Saha, Chad and Dara Creasey on board to develop the script.

Untitled courtroom drama
In February 2009, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Mangold was to direct and produce an untitled true-life drama for Bold Films. Sasha Jenson and Casey La Scala, who discovered the story and brought Mangold on board, wrote the screenplay about two brothers from New Orleans who sue a multi-national company after a typhoon kills several oil rig workers in the South China Sea.

Three Little Words
In July 2009, Variety reported that Mangold was hired to direct Three Little Words, an adaptation of the memoir by Ashley Rhodes-Courter written by Lewis Colick and Michael Petroni. On May 6, 2013, Reese Witherspoon signed on for the lead role. Amanda Seyfried was also in negotiations to co-star. The film was to have begun shooting later in September of that year.

The Sandman TV series
In the 2010s, Mangold pitched HBO a television adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. According to Mangold, the project never materialized due to a "Political turf war at WB".

Untitled Joe Namath biopic
In April 2010, Mangold was in early talks to direct the biopic about football quarterback Joe Namath with Jake Gyllenhaal attached to star. The first draft of the script was reported to be written by David Hollander. In May 2014, the project was again announced (with Mangold still on board as director), this time from a script by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, who had previously penned 3:10 to Yuma for Mangold.

Wicked
In July 2010, Mangold (along with directors J. J. Abrams, Ryan Murphy and Rob Marshall), was considered to direct the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked.

The Gunslinger
In December 2010, it was reported that Mangold was attached to direct The Gunslinger, a revenge thriller for New Regency written by John Hlavin. Described as a contemporary Western, the script centers on an ex-Texas Ranger who sets out to punish the men who killed his brother.

City State remake
In October 2011, Mangold was reported to be remaking the Icelandic crime thriller City State as his next film after he finished production on The Wolverine.

The Red Circle
In July 2012, it was reported that film producer Arthur M. Sarkissian approached Mangold to direct The Red Circle, the long-in-development remake of the French film Le Cercle Rouge. According to Sarkissian, the film was to begin production the following Summer and shoot in Hong Kong and Macau.

The Deep Blue Goodbye
On March 4, 2014, Mangold was attached to direct the film adaptation of John D. MacDonald's mystery paperback The Deep Blue Good-by which was to be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson-Killoran and Amy Robinson. Dana Stevens and Kario Salem wrote the first draft. On July 15, Christian Bale was attached to play the title role for the film with screenplay by Dennis Lehane. On February 25, 2015, it was reported that Rosamund Pike had landed the female lead in the film. On August 24, the production was shelved due to Bale's knee injury.

Blood and Champagne
In June 2015, Mangold was in talks to direct and develop Arash Amel's screenplay adaptation of Seducing Ingrid Bergman, a dramatization of the real-life affair between actress Ingrid Bergman and war photographer Robert Capa. The film, which Mangold wanted to eventually title Blood and Champagne, was postponed due to his involvement with Logan.

Captain Nemo
In February 2016, Mangold signed on to helm Disney's Captain Nemo, an origin story based on Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas that had Sebastian Gutierrez working on the latest draft. Production was to have begun in Fall of that year.

Laura
In February 2017, Mangold stated that with the introduction of Laura Kinney in Logan, there was a possibility that the character would appear in future films. Later that month, Logan producer Simon Kinberg said that a film centered around her character was in development. By October of the same year, Mangold and Craig Kyle had signed onto the project, now titled Laura, as co-screenwriters. After Disney's purchase of Fox was finalized in 2019, all X-Men films in development were stalled, leaving the future of Laura uncertain. In November 2019, Mangold said he did not think the project would be happening, and that he believed the studio would be trying to figure out where to go in the future with the characters, particularly with Wolverine.

The Force
In March 2017, Mangold was in negotiations with Fox to develop and direct an adaptation of Don Winslow's upcoming novel The Force about corrupt NYPD officers. In June 2017, David Mamet boarded the film to adapt the script. Fox set a release date for March 2019. In January 2020, Matt Damon signed on to star in the film.

Disorder remake
In June 2017, Mangold was named as the director of Sony's Disorder remake after reading Taylor Sheridan's draft of the film.

Crenshaw
In November 2017, it was reported that Mangold was attached to direct Crenshaw, a feature adaptation of a children's book from Newbery-winning author Katherine Applegate for Fox.

Untitled Patty Hearst biopic
On December 6, 2017, it was reported that Mangold was to direct Elle Fanning in a yet-titled Patty Hearst biopic based on author Jeffrey Toobin's American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst. Mangold collaborated on the adapted script with screenwriting team Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. On January 11, 2018, Fox opted not to move forward with the film after a statement Hearst made condemning Toobin's book, saying it "Romanticizes my rape and torture and calls my abduction a rollicking adventure."

Untitled Boba Fett film
In 2018, Mangold was co-writing a standalone Star Wars script centering on the character Boba Fett with Simon Kinberg, who was signed on to produce the film. The project was soon scrapped, with Lucasfilm instead shifting their focus toward the streaming series The Mandalorian. Speaking in 2023 about the project, Mangold said he envisioned it as a "borderline R-rated, single planet spaghetti Western," adding that "They probably would never be able to embrace Baby Yoda if I had made that."

Untitled Buster Keaton biopic
In February 2022, it was announced that Mangold would direct and produce a biopic of Buster Keaton at 20th Century Studios, based on Marion Meade's biography Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase, which executives had been looking for writers to adapt.