Originally published in July 2025, with updates added to reflect more recent developments.
I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked what happened to this or that director. There are so many great filmmakers who haven’t released a film in almost or over a decade—usually because of financing struggles or simply being burned out by the industry.
I’m still holding out hope for a new Michael Haneke project. His ambitious TV series — “Kelvin’s Book” — fell apart, due to financing, during the pandemic. The Austrian filmmaker, 84, hasn’t released anything since 2017’s “Happy End, which, if it were to be his final film, would actually be a fitting meta conclusion to an incredible career. Isabelle Huppert, who has starred in four Hanekes, has claimed that he considers himself retired, but that she’s been pushing him to come back for one more film.
Unfortunately, there are far too many talented filmmakers who’ve retreated into silence. Some are inactive by choice — I wouldn’t be surprised if we never get another film from Peter Weir, John Carpenter, or Frank Darabont again.
This decade has been especially tough for directors trying to get passion projects off the ground. Hollywood has grown increasingly risk-averse, with studios showing far less interest in filmmaker-driven work. It’s all about the bottom line now, and that means IP reigns supreme.
I was ready to scratch two names from this list: John Waters and Todd Solondz. But, as is the case for many of the filmmakers I mention, money troubles have plagued their potential comebacks. Waters was set to direct “Liarmouth,” based on his own novel. It was meant to be his first film in 20 years, and Aubrey Plaza had already been confirmed as the lead. The problem was that, according to Waters, financing fell through. The same thing happened to Solondz, whose “Love Child,” starring Elizabeth Olsen and Charles Melton, was days away from production before its shoot was canceled at the very last minute. The poor guy had even taken a year-long sabbatical from his NYU teaching gig to make the film.
I’ll include Alfonso Cuarón on this list, it’s been nine years since “Roma,” and no, his Apple TV series “Disclaimer” doesn’t count — even if he’d like us to believe it’s “cinema.” Same goes for Brian De Palma, seven years removed from “Domino”—though that’s one we might prefer to forget ever existed.
Here are just a few filmmakers who haven’t released anything in quite some time:
Michael Haneke, Alfonso Cuarón, Bennett Miller, Kenneth Lonergan, Spike Jonze, Brian De Palma, Richard Kelly, Mark Romanek, Whit Stillman, Elaine May, John Carpenter, Frank Darabont, Peter Jackson, Shane Carruth, John Waters, Todd Solondz, Charles Burnett, Terry Zwigoff, Cameron Crowe, Wong Kar-Wai, Maren Ade, John McTiernan, Carl Franklin, John Sayles, Vincent Gallo, Martin Brest, Lisa Cholodenko, Joe Dante.
The good news is that hermits like Lonergan, De Palma, Crowe, Ade and Sayles have had new projects announced recently — let’s see if they actually come to fruition. DePalma’s “Sweet Vengeance” was actually supposed to shoot this summer, but latest update has him now starting production in October— here’s hoping it sticks.
Peter Weir claims that he’s retired. Terry Zwigoff (“Ghost World”) recently made a pitch for his first film in over 18 years. These days Bennett Miller seems more into AI-generated photography. He did mention having spent the last ten years working on a documentary tackling AI, which might be the topic of his next narrative feature, which was supposed to be written by Charlie Kaufman, before he left the project.
Frank Darabont (“The Shashank Redemption”) recently “un-retired” to direct a few episodes for the last season of “Stranger Things.” Will he finally direct a new feature? He hasn’t given us anything since 2007’s “The Mist.” That “Walking Dead” lawsuit made him filthy rich, he doesn’t need the money, but we’d love for him to finally make his long-gestating U.S. civil war epic.
Meanwhile, Richard Kelly is still clinging to the belief that he can find funding. He hasn’t directed a film since 2009’s “The Box.” Kelly is working on an assortment of projects, but can’t seem to kickstart any of them.
Spike Jonze, who hasn’t released a movie since 2013’s “Her,” was working on an ambitious sci-fi limited series for Netflix, until he suddenly dropped out. It was supposed to star Joaquin Phoenix. There was a writer’s room for the project, but Netflix might have gotten cold feet over the $200M+ budget.
Meanwhile, John Carpenter is enjoying life by playing video games morning through night. I’m not kidding. He also obsessively watching the NBA on his television set. Carpenter has mentioned the possibility of suiting up for one last feature film. He hasn’t directed anything since 2010’s “The Ward.”
We’re likely never again going to watch a new film “Upstream Color” and “Primer” director Shane Carruth. He was arrested for domestic violence in 2022, and it’s not the first time that’s happened. He was supposed to direct a film called “The Modern Ocean,” but it’s now been forever shelved — he leaked the script online. Carruth is now back to being a computer engineer in Texas.
Martin Brest has been justly scarred by “Gigli.” I wouldn’t be surprised if he still gets nightmares from that movie. Last we heard from Brest, he was still complaing about “Gigli” and refused to refer it by name (“that G-movie”).
Back in 2019, the great Charles Burnett (“Killer of Sheep,” “To Sleep With Anger”) signed on for an Amazon slavery drama. The pandemic seems to have delayed momentum on that project and now Burnett is saying that the entire thing is in “development hell.”
Peter Jackson has been exclusively making documentaries since his ‘Hobbit’ trilogy, and they have been great. More recently, Jackson indicated gevwas writing and potentially directing a ‘Tintin’ sequel, which has been in development for over 15 years. We’ll believe it when we see it.
And so it goes, the life of many talented directors in 2026, drifting between passion projects and purgatory, caught in an industry that no longer prioritizes vision over viability. These filmmakers, many of whom once redefined cinema, now wait on the sidelines — some by choice, others by circumstance — as studios chase algorithms and franchises.
Which of these filmmakers do you desperately want to see come back? Haneke, Miller, Jonze and Lonergan are at the top of my list.