9 Unproduced 'Saturday Night Live' Films That Never Came to Fruition

Among the many Saturday Night Live skits that inspired movies, some were brilliant (Wayne’s World), others questionable (It’s Pat), and a few concepts that were discussed but never made it to theaters for various reasons. Here are nine SNL movie ideas you’ll likely never see on the big screen.

Hans & Franz: The Girly Man Dilemma (1993)

The concept for a Hans and Franz film originated—and concluded—with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who pitched the idea to Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey during his guest appearance on the show. In 2012, Nealon discussed the abandoned project with the Tampa Bay Times, revealing, “Yes, we wrote a musical! Hans & Franz: The Girly Man Dilemma. I collaborated with Conan O’Brien, Robert Smigel, and Dana Carvey on the script. Arnold Schwarzenegger was set to co-produce and star in it. We completed the script and sold it to Sony, but Arnold ultimately backed out.”

During a 2010 interview with The A.V. Club, Smigel revealed that the project’s downfall was largely due to the commercial failure of Last Action Hero, explaining “That film was released and flopped, and his agent informed me that Arnold declared [in Schwarzenegger’s voice], ‘I will never portray myself in a movie again! It’s impossible, and this proves it. Playing myself guarantees failure.’”

Bill Swerski’s Superfans (1995)

In the same A.V. Club interview, Smigel admitted, “I’ve probably written as many SNL movie scripts as anyone, but none of mine have been produced.” He wasn’t exaggerating. One such stalled project was a film adaptation of the beloved Da Bears sketch, also known as Bill Swerski’s Superfans, one of SNL’s most enduring sketches. It debuted on January 12, 1991, with Joe Mantegna as Bill Swerski and even appeared in a State Farm commercial. 

When the chance to turn the sketch into a movie came up, Smigel and Bob Odenkirk (who co-created the original sketch) eagerly took it. Smigel even left his role as head writer for Conan to focus on the script. However, a rough year for SNL on TV created challenges for anyone associated with the show. “A harsh article in New York Magazine criticized the show, and the network decided to tighten control,” Smigel recalled, which meant “no SNL movies.” Despite this, the script wasn’t entirely wasted; in 2010, Smigel, Odenkirk, Mantegna, George Wendt, Mike Ditka, and Richard Roeper (as narrator) performed a live reading of the script at Chicago’s Just for Laughs festival. 

Coffee Talk (1995)

The same New York Magazine article halted plans for a movie adaptation of Mike Myers’s Coffee Talk, a beloved sketch where Myers portrayed Jewish talk show host Linda Richman (a character inspired by his then-mother-in-law). The poor box office performance of other SNL films at the time, such as It’s Pat and Stuart Saves His Family, further complicated the situation.

Sprockets (2000)

Dieter, another of Mike Myers’s talk show host characters—this time a composed German—was also denied a big-screen debut, though not due to a lack of studio interest. On June 5, 2000, Universal sued Myers, alleging he walked away from the project because “the script—which he co-wrote and had full control over—no longer met his standards.” Myers countered in a lawsuit, stating, “The challenge has always been whether Sprockets could transition from a sketch to a full-length film. Despite my best efforts, I haven’t succeeded. I can’t accept $20 million and deliver a subpar script to moviegoers.”

The Ambiguously Gay Duo (2005)

For years, rumors swirled about a feature film based on Robert Smigel and J.J. Sedelmaier’s animated TV Funhouse sketch. In 2005, Stephen Colbert—who voiced Ace, one half of the potentially gay superhero duo (Steve Carell played Gary)—even confirmed to Ain’t It Cool News that “the movie is happening.” However, the project never materialized, with the closest adaptation being a live-action sketch in May 2011, featuring Jon Hamm and Jimmy Fallon as real-life versions of Ace and Gary.

Key Party (2005)

In 2005, Seth Meyers’s script for Key Party—inspired by a one-time sketch about a couple seeking to revitalize their love life, which aired in December 2004—was announced to be adapted into a film. However, there’s been no update since, making it doubtful this project will ever come to fruition.

Peepers: A Canticle (2012)

For those curious about Chris Kattan’s post-SNL endeavors since his departure in 2003, you’re not alone. Justin Becker, a writer based in Los Angeles, took a creative approach by crafting a fictional script that reimagined Mr. Peepers, Kattan’s quirky, suspender-clad, apple-munching character, as a mythical figure akin to Peter Sellers’s role in Being There. Becker credited the script to Kattan (as C.L. Kattan) and began distributing copies across California.

“I journeyed across the west coast, scattering these books like a deranged Johnny Appleseed,” Becker shared with San Francisco Weekly. “Chris Kattan’s Wikipedia page claims 1000 books were placed in stores, but I can neither confirm nor deny that figure.” Although this script was a prank from the start, one can only speculate that it might surpass the modest $21 million box office earnings of Coneheads.

Stefon (2013)

Stefon enthusiasts were briefly thrilled in 2013 when Bill Hader mentioned to Larry King the possibility of transforming his NYC club-savvy character into a movie star. However, he quickly tempered expectations, adding, “We discussed a movie idea briefly, but ultimately concluded it wouldn’t work. There was one amusing scene, though, where Stefon comes out to his blue-collar parents from the Bronx, which made John and me laugh.”

The Saturday Night Live Movie (1990)

Considering that every Saturday Night Live episode is essentially a feature-length collection of sketches, the idea of The Saturday Night Live Movie feels somewhat unnecessary. Yet, in 1990, a script with that exact title was penned by some of the show’s top writers, including Conan O’Brien, Robert Smigel, and Greg Daniels. However, it seems someone realized the concept didn’t translate well to film, as the script remained largely unknown until 2010.

Additional Sources: The B.S. Report (Grantland) interview with Robert Smigel