Famous films that took more than 10 years to make (10 photos)

How long is the average length of a regular (director's cut does not count) feature film? About one and a half to two hours. Although there are, of course, three-hour films, few people can stand them these days. Like, too long. But everything, as they say, is learned by comparison. Few people think about how much effort and time goes into making a film. They go from writing the script to film adaptation! And sometimes more than ten years. Let's take a look at which famous films took so long to create.

"Avatar: The Way of Water" - 13 years





The first part of Avatar was released in 2009. In 2011, James Cameron promised that the continuation of the franchise would be released by Christmas 2014. But in 2012, the sequel was postponed until 2017-2018 due to Cameron’s busy schedule - then the director was working on a re-release of Titanic in 3D. In March 2017, the director said that fans should expect the continuation of Avatar no earlier than 2019. But the date was postponed again, this time first to 2020, and a little later to 2021. As a result, the film was released only in November 2022.

"Alien vs. Predator" - 14 years



The script for Alien vs. Predator was written in 1990. The very next year, Fox approved the project, but the studio was in no hurry to provide funding. Filming began only in 2002, and in 2004 the film was finally released.

"X-Men" - 16 years





The first version of the X-Men script was written back in 1984. But the financial problems of the Orion company, which was fired up with the idea of ​​​​a film adaptation of the comic book, did not allow filming to begin. Then, a few years later, the Carolco studio thought about filming the film, but it also faced a lack of budget. It was only in 1994 that Fox took the project seriously. Neither more nor less, after 6 whole years, the film was finally released.

Mad Max: Fury Road - 18th Anniversary



The father of Mad Max, director and screenwriter George Miller, began work on the fourth film in the franchise in 1997. However, something constantly interfered with the project. Initially, the main role in the film was supposed to be played by Mel Gibson, but due to delays, it had to be given to a younger actor, who became Tom Hardy.

"Star Trek" - 18 years



Producer Harve Bennett proposed making a film about the youth of the Enterprise crew in 1991. During this same period, the film's script was written, but Paramount was focused on other projects. It was decided to return to the idea only in the mid-00s. The film was released in 2009.

"Valley" - 20 years



German actress and director Leni Riefenstahl began working on her melodrama in 1934. Subsequently, critics actively tried to find hints of Nazi ideology in her film. But Riefenstahl insisted that the work had nothing to do with politics, but reflected purely her inner experiences, love and passion. Filming of the film was completed in 1940, but it was still not edited. The director was able to fully complete the project only in 1954.

"Dallas Buyers Club" - 21 years old



Playwright Craig Borten began working on his film back in 1992. But the project ran into great financial difficulties, which is why filming had to be postponed until the 2000s. The script was later acquired by Universal Studios. However, she was able to start implementing it only in 2011, having previously settled all financial issues.

"Les Misérables" - 24 years



Alan Parker first came up with the idea of ​​bringing the classic novel to the big screen in 1988. However, the project stalled until the 2000s as the fashion for old-fashioned musicals waned. As a result, Les Misérables was only able to be filmed in 2012 under the direction of Tom Hooper.

“It’s Hard to Be a God” - 45 years old



Alexey German fervently wanted to film the novel by the Strugatsky brothers in 1968, but reforms and decentralization of power in the country led to stagnation. The project was revived only in the 1980s. But even then, Sovinfilm entrusted the filming not to Herman, but to Peter Fleischman. As a result, two versions of “It’s Hard to Be a God” were released. Flashmain released his picture in 1989, and Herman, 45 years after he had this idea, in 2013.

"John Carter" - 81 years old



Hollywood first thought about filming the novel “A Princess of Mars” back in 1931. Subsequently, the rights to the script changed hands (after the death of writer Edgar Rice Burroughs), but this did not bring any results. Only many years later, Andrew Stanton and the Walt Disney studio took up the implementation of the story, renaming it “John Carter.” To realize the writer's ideas, expensive, modern computer technologies were used, but the film still failed at the box office. The film was released in 2012.