Clive Barker's unrealized projects

During his long career, British artist Clive Barker has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially canceled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.

1990s

The Mummy remake

In the early 1990s, it was announced that Barker would write and direct a remake of The Mummy for Universal Pictures with Mick Garris set co-write the remake with Barker, but that iteration was canceled and eventually became the 1999 film with Brendan Fraser.

The Thief of Always film

On February 13, 1994, Paramount Pictures and The Kennedy/Marshall Company were set to produce an animated film adaptation of Barker's The Thief of Always in a collaboration with Nelvana Communications. On March 26, 1997, Universal Pictures was set to produce a live-action film adaptation with Bernard Rose attached to write and direct the movie adaptation. In the 2000s, Universal Pictures was set to produce a CGI-animated film adaptation. But on February 7, 2006, 20th Century Fox acquired the rights and Kelly Asbury was hired to write and direct the live-action film adaptation with Barker producing through his Seraphim Films, until Barker confirmed that Oliver Parker would direct a live-action feature film adaptation with David Barron producing without a major studio.

In the years following these developments, there continued to be interest in bringing The Thief of Always to the screen in various forms. In 2010, there were discussions about creating a mini-series that would explore the story's themes in greater depth, aiming for a more mature and comprehensive adaptation. A year later, several screenwriters pitched new takes on the story, envisioning a blend of live-action with innovative special effects to bring Barker's fantastical elements to life.