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{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Short description|Term for media projects stuck in development}}
'''Development hell''', also known as '''development purgatory''' or '''development limbo''', is [[Media industry|media]] and [[Software industry|software]] industry [[jargon]] for a project, concept, or idea that remains in a stage of early development for a long time, because the project is stuck in legal, technical, or artistic challenges.<ref name="Doyle_Page_55">{{cite book |last1=Doyle |first1=Barbara Freedman |title=Make Your Movie: What You Need to Know About the Business and Politics of Filmmaking |date=2012 |publisher=Focal Press |___location=Waltham, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-240-82155-9 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cPzhXug9X4oC&pg=PA55 |access-date=March 14, 2023 |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327101555/https://books.google.com/books?id=cPzhXug9X4oC&pg=PA55 |url-status=live }}</ref> A work may move between many sets of artistic leadership, crews, scripts, [[game engine]]s, or studios. Many projects which end up in development hell never progress into production, and are gradually abandoned by the involved parties.
Projects in development hell generally have ambitious goals, which may or may not be underestimated in the design phase, and are delayed in an attempt to meet those goals to a high degree. '''Production hell''' refers to when a film has entered production but remains in that state for a long time without progressing to [[post-production]].
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Film industry companies often buy the [[film rights]] to many popular novels, video games, and comic books, but it may take years for such properties to be successfully brought to the screen, and often with considerable changes to the plot, characters, and general tone. This pre-production process can last for months or years. More often than not, a project trapped in this state for a prolonged period of time will be abandoned by all interested parties or canceled outright. As [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] starts ten times as many projects as are released, many scripts will end up in this limbo state.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Spillman|first=Susan|title=Cover Story: Writers Paid for Movies Never Made|magazine=USA Today|___location=McLean, Virginia|language=en|publication-date=January 16, 1991|page=D1}}</ref> Less than two percent of all books which are [[Option (filmmaking)|optioned]] actually make it to the big screen.<ref name="Kean">{{cite news |last1=Kean |first1=Danuta |title=No room at the Oscars: The cinemas are full of turkeys yet that brilliant novel you read three years ago has never been made into a film. |work=The Independent on Sunday |page=1 |date=April 15, 2007}} Available via [[ProQuest]].</ref>
Development hell happens most often with projects that have multiple interpretations and reflect several points of view.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Mitchell|first=Kerrie|title=Dept. of Development Hell|magazine=Premiere|___location=New York|language=en|date=February 2005|volume=18|issue=5|page=40}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Warren|first=Patricia Nell|title=Books Into Movies: Part 2 (Best Selling Novel [[The Front Runner (novel)|The Front Runner]] has Spent Over 25 Years in Development Hell)|magazine=Lambda Book Report|___location=Washington|language=en|date=April 2008|volume=8|issue=9|page=9}}</ref> Development delays can also arise when a director and the film studio have a different vision about a film's casting, plot or budget, if a star withdraws from the project, or if there is turnover at the studio's executive level, and the new leaders have a different vision. Film projects can also be delayed if the film's topic becomes perceived as no longer marketable.<ref name="script">{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2001/09/24/hollywood-reacts-crisis/|title=Hollywood reacts to the crisis|first1=Jeff|last1=Jensen|first2=Benjamin|last2=Svetkey|date=September 24, 2001|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=March 13, 2023|archive-date=March 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314062539/https://ew.com/article/2001/09/24/hollywood-reacts-crisis/|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{anchor|Production hell}}Production hell refers to when a film has entered production but remains in that state for a long time without progressing to post-production.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 9, 2020 |title='The New Mutants' Director Josh Boone Says The Film Never Had Reshoots |url=https://atomtickets.com/movie-news/new-mutants-never-had-reshoots/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714113858/https://atomtickets.com/movie-news/new-mutants-never-had-reshoots/ |archive-date=July 14, 2021 |access-date=July 14, 2021 |website=Atom Insider}}</ref>
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=== Podcasts ===
A number of popular audio series are dedicated to discussing the topic of unmade creative projects, including ''Development Hell'', a [[Dread Central]] podcast which uncovers notable cancelled horror films.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chernov |first=Matthew |date=2021-10-26 |title=12 Horror Movie Podcasts to Make You Scream |url=https://variety.com/shop/best-horror-movie-podcasts-1235097759/ |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124155247/https://variety.com/shop/best-horror-movie-podcasts-1235097759/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Causes ==
The [[concept artist]] and illustrator Sylvain Despretz has suggested that, "Development hell doesn't happen with no-name directors. It happens only with famous directors that a studio doesn't dare break up with. And that's how you end up for two years just, you know, [[polishing a turd]]. Until, finally, somebody walks away, at great cost."<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=[[The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?]] |last=Schnepp, Jon (director) |type=Documentary |year=2015 |time=1:27:52}}</ref>
With video games, slow progress and a lack of funds may lead developers to focus their resources elsewhere. Occasionally, completed portions of a game fail to meet expectations, with developers subsequently choosing to abandon the project rather than start from scratch. The commercial failure of a released game may also result in any prospective sequels being delayed or cancelled.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/05/10/the-13-biggest-video-games-that-never-came-out|title=The 13 Biggest Video Games That Never Came Out|last=Johnson|first=Leif|website=IGN|date=May 10, 2016|access-date=May 31, 2022|archive-date=April 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427044729/https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/05/10/the-13-biggest-video-games-that-never-came-out|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Turnaround deals ==
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