I Am Legend (Arnold Schwarzenegger)

Before the most recent film adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend was a Will Smith vehicle under the direction of Francis Lawrence, Warner Bros. Pictures had initially signed visionary auteur Ridley Scott to helm the picture in the summer of 1997, working off of Mark Protosevich's initial draft of the screenplay. Furthermore, Arnold Schwarzenegger was attached to star in the lead role of Dr. Robert Neville — with Scott hoping to showcase the actor's dramatic chops in an emotionally intense part — and Jennifer Connelly would co-star alongside him. Having his reservations with Protosevich's work, Scott enlisted future Oscar nominee John Logan to rewrite the script, changing it into more of a psychological thriller than a straightforward action film, essentially a hybrid of a summer blockbuster and an arthouse film, with the entire first hour containing no dialogue. Scott also hired Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. of Amalgamated Dynamics to take charge of the film's extensive special make-up and creature effects and designs. No doubt many of Scott's frequent collaborators would've also joined in, including score composer Hans Zimmer, film editor Pietro Scalia, production designer Arthur Max, and cinematographer Hugh Johnson. However, due to the proposed production costs of $108 million, Scott's and Schwarzenegger's recent films at the time underwhelming at the box office, Warner Bros. suffering from a string of costly big-budget flops, and studio fears of the project's lack of commercial and merchandising appeal, the higher-ups cancelled this iteration of the project in the spring of 1998.