Cancelled Rise of the Dead Projects

Despite having four films and two spinoff shorts in its canon, the Rise of the Dead Saga has had a notoriously troubled production history that involved much restructuring and course correction. Here are some of the notable known projects that did not come to fruition.

The Original Version of Rise of the Dead
The original vision for Rise of the Dead involved a large ensemble cast beyond the protagonists Jack, Ryan and John. These characters would be introduced into the story at the halfway point, when Jack, Ryan and John are kidnapped. However, all of these actors were unable and unwilling to complete filming the project. This led to the entire second half of Rise of the Dead to be reworked from the ground up, despite the first half having completed filming and some scenes had already been shot for the second half. As a result, a number of planned scenes had to be cut. The creators of the saga have pointed to this as a main reason why the original Rise of the Dead film was as disjointed as it was - the film is constantly retconning and contradicting itself due to the fact that the final cut is a combination of two completely different visions. The the majority of the multitude scenes that were deleted due to the film's restructuring have been lost. The original vision for the film was not completed and it is unlikely that any footage that was shot for the original script will ever see the light of day.

Rise of the Dead 3: Endgame
Perhaps the most infamous example of a cancelled Rise of the Dead project was the sequel to Rise of the Dead 2: Apocalypse. The film would have seen Jack, Ryan, and John struggle to distribute the zombie antidote and finally come face to face with Arthur Beansman. The film would have been 2-3 hours and was incredibly ambitious in terms of scope. The film entered production in January 2014 with a projected Summer 2014 release date. About ten to twenty minutes of footage was shot between January-summer of 2014. However, creative differences and the daunting scale of the project prompted Ryan Woods, who had co-created the series with Jack Hillebrecht and had starred as Ryan in the first two films, exited the project. Due to the pivotal role that Ryan played, there was no choice but to cancel the project. Development on a reboot of the franchise began, which would eventually become The Rise of the Dead released in 2019. Woods would reprise his role in that film and its sequel. However, it was a small cameo role in both instances and Woods had no involvement with the creative process going forward the way he did in the first two films.

Endgame Spinoffs and Related Media

 * As Rise of the Dead 3 began production, it was decided that Endgame would be the final Rise of the Dead film, but not the end of the continuity. A spinoff trilogy had already been greenlit, and would have featured Jack, Ryan, and John facing off against an army of robots, that were based off of the robotic portion of Arthur Beansman. This spinoff series was so close to being put into production that the ending of Endgame would have set it up. After this trilogy was done, plans were set for several independent films (more films in the same universe, but not part of a trilogy. Some ideas for these films had Jack, John and Ryan facing against Aliens, evil cults, and even monsters.
 * These spinoffs based on new characters would eventually go into production in 2020. The style and tone of the series had drastically changed from this original concept.

"The Adventures of John"
While not much about Rise of the Dead 3 would have been has been revealed at this time, it can be confirmed that similar to John's disappearances in the previous films due to him not showing up on set, would have been actually been scripted and have him having very little screen time. So, for a time, a spinoff featuring John's adventures during the main events of Rise of the Dead 3 was considered for production, but a script was never written and no details were ever determined, other than John would be the only main character. It was never confirmed for production, and will very likely never be with the cancellation of Rise of the Dead 3.

Crossover
On the page of user LordStarscream100, a partner of the JTH Studios channel, (who agreed to do some additional editing for Endgame) a user by the name of sullyfilmsproduction left a comment suggesting a crossover between the Rise of the Dead series and LSS100's Jurassic Shark " Imagine...Rise of the Dead/Jurassic Shark! A crossover between Jurassic Shark a film series made by JTH Studios!﻿" both users entertained the idea, with LordStarscream saying "Man, that'd be pretty interesting. Zombies and flying robot sharks. That's quite an idea!﻿" and later "Lol, maybe we could make something out of it someday." While a crossover was never seriously considered for production, there were talks of including some kind of Easter Egg in Rise of the Dead 3 tat could link the franchises.

LEGO Rise of the Dead
For a brief time, a short film told in LEGO based on Rise of the Dead was considered. It would have likely been a tie-in to Rise of the Dead 3, and also likely to not actually be canon. It would have featured an alternate beginning with "LEGO Humor" to Rise of the Dead 3. While a script was never written, some ideas included LEGO versions of the main characters rebuilding the Research Facility into a giant warship and use it to battle Arthur Beansman. However, with the cancellation of Rise of the Dead 3 it has been scrapped.

Early versions of The Rise of the Dead

 * After Ryan Woods exited Endgame, it was decided that the best course of action would be a reboot, albeit one that shared continuity with the first two films while writing Ryan (as well as any perceived campiness) out of the series.
 * By October 2014, the film began development with an October 2015 release date. This decision was announced in January 2015. This initial idea for a Rise of the Dead Reboot involved a catastrophic event that gave the characters Jack and John amnesia, therefore continuing the story while erasing any presence of Ryan and allowing the story to start anew.
 * In October 2015, a new announcement was made. The next Rise of the Dead project would be delayed to October 2016, and would now be treated as a complete "reimagining" of the series that would share no continuity with its predecessors. Two possible titles were presented in this announcement - Rise of the Undead and Rise of the Dead: Descent into Darkness. Viewers were told to vote on a title. However, neither of these titles would end up being used.
 * In June 2016, yet another update was given. A script had been completed and it would now be a direct sequel to Rise of the Dead 2: Apocalypse albeit while still being a "soft reboot" of sorts that changed the tone and style of the franchise. By this point, the film was intended to end the saga rather than pave the way for new sequels like originally intended.
 * In June 2017, an update was given to the film that said that the script had fallen through but a goal was set to release a new version of the film in 2018.
 * In late 2017, a smaller-scale script was written with Jack and John's "final adventure". However, it too would be scrapped, and for most of the 2018 the prospect of a new Rise of the Dead film was completely abandoned. It seemed incredibly likely that the series was dead and that a new installment would never be made.
 * By in early 2019, the concept for The Rise of the Dead was finally realized and would go on to be produced.

A Rise of the Dead Story
In early 2020, it was announced that the Rise of the Dead Universe would be expanded in the form of short-form spinoffs. The sub-series was intended to have at least three installments. The Only One That Really Mattered was the first of these films.
 * The second film was intended to focus on Jack to explain his absence in The Rise of the Dead. A script was written to include the character Arthur Beansman in a prominent role, with Scott Pincus taking over the role. However, the film was scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic and was reworked into a smaller scale film called Raise a Glass
 * The third film was intended to be a story about Annika set before the events of The Rise of the Dead. However, these plans never materialized.

Arthur Beansman solo film

 * Back when Rise of the Dead spinoffs were first being developed during the production of Rise of the Dead 3: Endgame, a spinoff centered around Arthur Beansman was one of the projects intended for the future. However, the idea was scrapped with the cancellation of Endgame.
 * In late 2020, the project was revived, intended to be a part of the A Rise of the Dead Story series. This was the only instance of a specific spinoff from the 2013-2014 era being reconsidered.
 * Plans were made for the film to be done in LEGO stop motion, due to the scope of the film. The story would cover the origins of the Apocalypse, and follow Arthur up until just after the events of Rise of the Dead 2: Apocalypse.
 * Jack Hillebrecht, Ryan Woods, and John Manfredonia were all set to reprise their roles for the project.
 * It was intended to be the final Rise of the Dead project and a true conclusion to the franchise.
 * However, by March 2021 plans were made with Alyssa Lightner to have her return to the franchise for Rise of the Dead: The Undead Heart. It was decided that this film should properly end the Rise of the Dead series.
 * As a result, the A Rise of the Dead Story sub-series was cancelled to give The Undead Heart a sense of finality. As such, the Arthur Beansman film was scrapped yet again despite having a script in the works, and it is unlikely that it will get made at this point.