TV Series That Were Originally Planned As Only A Movie

The gun-slinging bounty hunter from a galaxy far, far away had a tumultuous journey before finally landing on the Disney streaming service. Shortly after Disney acquired Lucasfilm and, by extension, the "Star Wars" franchise, the company announced spin-off films telling stories adjacent to the traditional "Star Wars" saga. Boba Fett became one of those initially touted projects. Originally, Josh Trank, the director of "Chronicle" and the catastrophic box-office bomb that was 2015's "Fantastic Four," pitched his version of a Boba Fett narrative to Lucasfilm. The studio was enthusiastic about his ideas and announced his admission to the "Star Wars" family, as he was to direct the Boba Fett standalone production. After the failure and drama that spun out of "Fantastic Four," Trank quit the project understanding that he'd likely be fired if he didn't do so.

Eventually, the project landed in the hands of "Logan" director James Mangold. However, the most famous fictional smuggler seemingly ruined plans for the silver-screen future of Boba Fett. The prequel film "Solo: A Star Wars Story," which chronicled Han Solo's younger days picking fights with gangsters and the Empire, was considered a financial disappointment upon its release. Later that year, Disney seemingly torpedoed all spin-off projects indefinitely, like they were a strangely destructive design flaw in a looming space station. The focus shifted toward the new Disney streaming service, where "The Mandalorian"—in which Boba Fett makes an appearance—became a flagship series for the service's debut. Thanks to that show's success, plans for Boba Fett's own series quickly followed, and the rest is history.

The White Wolf, better known as Geralt of Rivia, has long been a mainstay of the fantasy genre. Andrzej Sapkowski created the fabled Witcher and authored a collection of stories surrounding his exploits before writing a sprawling saga. The Witcher, known for his combat prowess, keen senses, and hunting acuity, is capable of slaying the most dangerous of monsters in the wilds. Geralt is also often embroiled in the warring politics, evil machinations, and drama of the most prominent characters to populate the land.

Netflix was always a prime destination for the Witcher to receive a proper live-action outing. Although the character appeared in a few well-received video games made by Polish game developer CD Projekt RED, fans were chomping at the bit to see Geralt realized in cinematic glory. "The Witcher" was originally going to receive a standalone Netflix film. However, creatives behind the scenes convinced the producers that there was far too much material to cover in the typical 90-minute runtime. They were eventually convinced that the property deserved more. They got the green light to move forward with a Netflix original series. Just think: With a different team behind the production of a feature-length movie, there's an alternate reality where we never had Jaskier's tune "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher" endlessly stuck in our heads.

Believe it or not, one of the most critically acclaimed cable television shows of all time, "The Sopranos," was originally destined for the big screen. Imagine seeing the larger-than-life personality actor James Gandolfini gave his character, the erratic mob boss Tony, on the silver screen. It would have been a sight to behold, though wouldn't have gotten the cultural landmark that "The Sopranos" series has become in a serial format. 

According to series co-creator David Chase, the show was conceived as a film and pitched as such from the get-go. The central focus still would have been Tony Soprano, of course. Chase stated that the film was about "a mobster in therapy having problems with his mother, who's also involved in some sort of a gang war or mob business problem." Eventually, Chase's manager at the time, Lloyd Braun, suggested that his idea could actually be a television series. 

Chase gave it some thought and began to wrap his mind around the mobster's life as an ongoing series. The scope of his pitch changed, but only enough to cover Season 1, ending with Tony confronting his mother over trying to kill him. Chase understood this moment as the end of their tormented relationship. The second season had to work with fresh ideas beyond Chase's plan. Of course, in the end, the creator succeeded in producing one of the best TV dramas in history.

"Mr. Robot" introduced hacktivists to the mainstream. These clandestine keyboard sleuths cyber-attack perceived oppressors. The series centers around Rami Malek's character, Elliot Alderson. A recluse with social anxiety and other mental troubles, Elliot works for the cybersecurity company Allsafe. Of course, he becomes something of a  revolutionary after joining a hacker group led by the enigmatic Mr. Robot. The show received high praise from both critics and audiences. However, many likely don't realize that "Mr. Robot" was originally intended to be an independently produced feature film.

In an interview with Forbes, series creator Sam Esmail discussed his creative journey. Esmail stated, "When I saw it as a movie[,] I knew where I was going. I knew the ending." The problem was that he simply had more meat on the bones than was sustainable for a movie. Esmail continued, "When I got to page 90 and I was still halfway through Act 1[,] that's when I decided, 'OK. This can be a television show.'" The show creator still tackled the series like a movie production, treating each episode as a short film. Ultimately, Esmail still achieved what he set out to do with the narrative he'd originally planned.

In 2020, "The Queen's Gambit" took the streaming world by storm with a thrilling period piece based on the 1983 Walter Tevis novel. The Netflix miniseries centers around Beth Harmon, portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy. As an orphaned youth, she quickly becomes obsessed with and shows a talent for chess. She eventually develops a drug addiction to help her focus on her game and cope with personal loss. The series chronicles her rise to fame in the chess world.

"The Queen's Gambit" has long been examined for a possible feature film adaptation. In fact, the late actor Heath Ledger, himself something of a chess connoisseur, was about to make his directorial debut with an adaptation of the novel before he tragically passed away. The project was halted upon Ledger's death and was eventually brought to Netflix as a miniseries.

The musically minded high school drama "Glee" burst onto the scene in 2009 and became a sensation. The series revolves around a group of outcasts who find camaraderie by expanding their musical talents in Glee Club. Part of the draw of the show is its superbly crafted musical numbers and choreographed routines. Each episode brought another popular song front and center, giving viewers something to tap their feet to or sing along with.  

The idea was conceived by Ian Brennan, who was inspired by his experiences with his own high school choir in the mid-1990s. Early on, he wrote a film script. He hadn't had much experience writing screenplays, so he purchased "Screenwriting for Dummies" to help get things moving. Even though he completed the film script in 2005, it didn't find its way in front of the famous television producer Ryan Murphy until a few years later. Murphy then came back to Brennan with the idea of redeveloping the content into a television series instead of a feature film. The show found an audience fast and quickly rose to the top.

The hit medical drama of the '90s that helped make George Clooney a star also defined an enduring genre on television. "ER" was created by author Michael Crichton, whom you may recognize as the writer behind other notable film franchises, like "Jurassic Park," the original "Westworld," "Twister," "Congo," and many more. Interestingly enough, Michael Crichton was a doctor before he pivoted to writing and directing. According to the book "Body Trauma TV: The New Hospital Dramas" by Jason Jacobs, Crichton penned a film script for "ER" based on his experiences in the emergency room. Crichton wrote the script in 1974 and it lay dormant for nearly two decades before being guided to television with the help of Steven Spielberg. The idea that the emergency room is filled with several individual stories coming and going is what solidified "ER's" future as a TV show.

While Crichton was dubbed as the show's creator, his written work only informed the pilot episode of the series. The remainder of the series simply set out to honor the tone and themes that Crichton had established. "ER" endured for 15 seasons, making it one of the most popular medical procedural dramas in TV history.

Netflix's "13 Reasons Why" left an unmistakable mark on viewers, portraying a student body reacting to the suicide of one of its members, Hannah Baker. The series uncovers her motive and history through a series of cassette tapes she had left behind. Based on the novel of the same name by Jay Asher, it found success with its first season and was promptly renewed for a second. Ultimately, the show lasted four seasons.

Universal Studios originally acquired the rights to adapt the novel into a feature film. Selena Gomez was closing the Disney Channel era of her career and was making strides to jump into the film industry. She was originally set to star as Hannah Baker in the film adaptation. However, the project eventually became a Netflix series and Gomez shifted into an executive producer role for the show. 

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