# Coen brothers' unrealized projects

During their long careers, American filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen have worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under their direction. Some of these productions fell in development hell or were cancelled.

## 1980s
### Suburbicon

In 1986, the Coen brothers wrote the script Suburbicon, and had intended on directing the film themselves, but it was put aside and shelved in favor of other projects at the time. Later, in the 2000s, they sought out the script from Warner Bros., who owned the rights, and rewrote it with a contemporary setting and with George Clooney in mind to star. Clooney ultimately directed Suburbicon himself, with a script rewritten by Grant Heslov to take place in 1957.

## 1990s
### Cuba Libre

In July 1997, the Coens agreed to adapt Elmore Leonard's next novel Cuba Libre, for Universal Pictures, however the two made no official commitment to direct at the time.

### To the White Sea

That same month, it was reported that the Coens had considered adapting James Dickey's To the White Sea at Universal for Brad Pitt. In August 2000, Pitt officially signed on to star in the film. They were due to start production in 2002, with Jeremy Thomas producing, but it was cancelled when the Coens felt that the budget offered was not enough to successfully produce the film. The Houston Chronicle reported that "no studio would fund the film." In August 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. acquired the film rights to the book and that their screenplay was scrapped and that another writer and/or director would replace them.

### LaBrava

In March 1998, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Coen brothers had written an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1983 novel LaBrava, also for Universal.

### The Contemplations

In an April 1998 interview with Alex Simon for Venice magazine, the Coens discussed a project called The Contemplations, which was to have been an anthology of short films based on stories in a leather bound book from a "dusty old library". This project may have influenced or evolved into The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), which has the same structure.

## 2000s
### 62 Skidoo

It was reported in 2004 that the Coen brothers were to make a Cold War-related comedy film project titled 62 Skidoo. Nicolas Cage was attached to the project.

### The Yiddish Policemen's Union

In 2008, it was announced that the Coen brothers were to write and direct a film adaptation of Michael Chabon's novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union for Columbia Pictures. Scott Rudin, who collaborated with the brothers in No Country for Old Men (2007), was to have served as producer. When asked about the status of the project in 2015, Chabon confirmed: "Nothing. The Coen brothers wrote a draft of the script and then they seemed to move on. The rights have lapsed back to me."

### Old Fink

In 2009, the Coens stated that they were interested in making a sequel to their film Barton Fink (1991) called Old Fink, which would take place in the 1960s, around the same time period as A Serious Man (2009). The Coens also stated they had talks with John Turturro in reprising his role as Fink, but that they were waiting "until he was actually old enough to play the part".

## 2010s
### Harve Karbo TV series

In 2011, the Coens were working on a television project, called Harve Karbo, about a quirky Los Angeles private eye, for Imagine Television.

### Untitled musical comedy

In September 2013, the Coens stated in an interview that they were working on a new musical comedy centered around an opera singer, though they said it is "not a musical per se".

### Untitled sword-and-sandal epic

In an interview conducted with the Coen brothers in December 2013, the two expressed their involvement in a sprawling sword-and-sandal epic set in ancient Rome.

### Black Money

In August 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. had optioned the film rights to Ross Macdonald's novel Black Money for the Coen brothers to potentially write and direct.

### The Zebra-Striped Hearse

The Coens have written an as-yet-unproduced screenplay based on the Ross Macdonald mystery novel The Zebra-Striped Hearse, for producer Joel Silver. Silver first spoke of the project in May 2016. In 2023, it was rumored that the brothers would possibly reunite to co-direct The Zebra-Striped Hearse, though Ethan would deny this. He elaborated that he and Joel had been hired years ago to adapt some Macdonald novels, but that he didn't know who was currently attached to make it.

### Dark Web

It was reported in October 2016 that the Coens would work on the screenplay for Fox titled Dark Web, based on Joshuah Bearman's two-part Wired article about Ross Ulbricht and his illicit Silk Road online marketplace. The project originated in 2013, with novelist Dennis Lehane on board for the screenplay. Chernin Entertainment would produce.

### Scarface remake

On February 10, 2017, it was announced that the Scarface remake's script was being written by the Coens. Luca Guadagnino announced plans to direct the film.

## 2020s
### Untitled horror film

In July 2023, Ethan disclosed that he would be reuniting with his brother Joel to direct a new film together, after their temporary split to pursue solo ventures. In January 2024, he confirmed that they had both finished writing the script in the summer, revealing it to be "a pure horror film," noting that "if you like Blood Simple, I think you'll enjoy it." Ethan's wife Tricia Cooke also added that their script was "horribly funny." The following month, Ethan told the Times Colonist that the plan was for him to next shoot Honey Don't! before embarking with Joel on the planned horror film from their original screenplay. According to Ethan, they had both had the idea for a long time before writing it and that it was "in a mental drawer." It was rumored to start shooting in the fall that year. TheWrap teased that with the film, the Coens promise to deliver "a lot of fake blood. And ... feathers?"