History Main / DevelopmentHell

* David Gerrold's fans have been waiting for the fifth Literature/TheWarAgainstTheChtorr novel (''A Method for Madness'') since at least 1994. And it's only the third-to-last in the series. Gerrold, of course, is getting up in his years, and AuthorExistenceFailure could result in an OrphanedSeries.

** In 2007, Creator/{{Hasbro}} ran a special fan poll that included prototypes of 1st Appearance Storm, Magneto, Comicbook/{{Gambit}} in his Muir Island uniform, Comicbook/{{Northstar}}, Aurora, Silver Samurai, Sunfire and Lilandra. Sunfire won the poll and was eventually released, with Northstar & Aurora [[note]] As part of an Amazon exclusive boxed set with other members of ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'' [[/note]], Silver Samurai [[note]] As a "vintage' fgure [[/note]], & 1st Appearance Storm [[note]] As part of a Target exclusive two-pack based on ''Giant-Sized X-Men #1,'' alongside Thunderbird [[/note]] all following, but still no Lilandra or Muir Island Gambit as of 2021.

** Hasbro held another fan poll in 2009, this time showing Comicbook/{{Deadpool}}, Multiple Man, Comicbook/BlackWidow, Brother Voodoo, [[Comicbook/SpiderMan the Bombastic Bag-Man]], Classic Comicbook/MsMarvel, Modern Havok, the Hood, Lady Bullseye, Ed [=McGuinness=] [[Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]], Nuke and Terror, Inc. Deadpool, Black Widow, Hulk, Brother Voodoo, Multiple Man, Nuke, & the Hood have all been released in some capacity, but not the others.

* ''WesternAnimation/RainbowRangers'' was announced to have a Fisher Price toyline that would show up in the fall of 2019. [[https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Rainbow-Rangers-Ranger-Banana/dp/B07MCFBJZC Some websites]] [[https://www.deepdiscount.com/rainbow-rangers-3in-figure-pack/887961774283 even listed]] preorders for the toys, but those never came to be. The fate of this toyline is currently unknown.

** The Comicbook/{{Onslaught}} wave figures were each supposed to come packed with a henchman character, like a Skrull warrior, a Comicbook/{{HYDRA}} agent, an A.I.M. soldier, a Hellfire Club guard, a Hand ninja, a Doombot and a Brood drone. This plan was axed for the same reason as the X-Babies figures, and the Crimson Dynamo figure from the wave was also dropped. However, the Brood and Skrull figures were later [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell rescued by Diamond Select for the company's Marvel Select line]].

** In 2007, Creator/{{Hasbro}} ran a special fan poll that included prototypes of 1st Appearance Storm, Magneto, Comicbook/{{Gambit}} in his Muir Island uniform, Comicbook/{{Northstar}}, Aurora, Silver Samurai, Sunfire and Lilandra. Sunfire won the poll and was eventually released, while the rest have yet to see the light of day.

** Hasbro held another fan poll in 2009, this time showing Comicbook/{{Deadpool}}, Multiple Man, Comicbook/BlackWidow, Brother Voodoo, [[Comicbook/SpiderMan the Bombastic Bag-Man]], Classic Comicbook/MsMarvel, Modern Havok, the Hood, Lady Bullseye, Ed [=McGuinness=] [[Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]], Nuke and Terror, Inc. Deadpool, Black Widow and Hulk were all eventually released in some capacity, while the rest weren't.
** Comicbook/{{Blade}} and [[Comicbook/NewMutants Dani Moonstar]] were supposed to appear in the Epic Heroes wave, but were bumped.
** The Phoenix 5 version of Cyclops was meant to show up in the Puck wave, but ended up being cancelled by Hasbro due to the costume supposedly being too flash in the pan.

* A musical adaptation of ''Literature/FightClub'' was announced in 2004 with a creative team consisting of original author Creator/ChuckPalahniuk, Creator/DavidFincher (who directed the [[Film/FightClub film adaptation]]), and [[Music/NineInchNails Trent Reznor]], set to be staged for the book's tenth anniversary in 2006. That date passed with no musical to show for it, and despite director Julie Taymor joining the team in 2015, there has been no news about it since it was brought up to Reznor in during a 2017 Q&A session where he said it was still being worked on.

* {{DevelopmentHell/Other}}

[-[[caption-width-right:229:Aagh, the anticipation is killing me![[note]][[http://www.telltalegames.com/strongbad/dangeresque3 November 2008,]] [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell ultimately]].[[/note]]]]-]

* Miami for UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer has been plagued for over two decades in "Expansion Hell". The first team, Miami Fusion FC, could not negotiate a stadium deal to use either the Orange Bowl in the city proper, or the venue at Dolphins/Hard Rock Stadium, but instead played at tiny Lockhart Stadium in northern Fort Lauderdale for the team's 1998-2001 existence. Once MLS began its re-expansion phase in 2005, a team actually in the city of Miami looked promising. Marcelo Claure, CEO of Sprint, and FC Barcelona put a joint venture together in 2008 that was turned down by the league in 2009. MLS Commissioner Dan Gelber promised Miami a team if an MLS-Only Stadium could be secured in Miami. David Beckham, in return for joining the LA Galaxy, was given the right to form an expansion team (referred to as Team 20) with only a $25 Million entry fee anywhere without a team in the US. Team 20 was likely to join the league in 2012 along with the Montreal Impact. Beckman had the rights to Miami and could join once a stadium deal was secured. However, the city of Miami rejected two waterfront proposals plus another near the site of the old Orange Bowl; the University of Miami rejected a joint MLS/[[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball college football]] stadium; and a lawsuit by property owners in the Overtown district of Miami (where the City granted building rights) caused various stadium and team co-owners to leave his group. Since the tentative agreement in 2012, MLS expanded into New York City, Orlando, Atlanta, Minnesota, left (and later returned to) LA, with Nashville possibly taking the field before them in 2020. After a local judge dismissed the Overtown lawsuit, MLS Miami was officially awarded a team on January 29, 2018 for play "In the Future", with the team officially known as Club Fútbol Internacional de Miami, or Inter Miami CF. Since the official announcement, the Overtown location has been scrapped and FC Cincinnati was promoted to MLS for play in 2019. On November 6, 2018, the voters of the City of Miami finally approved a stadium at Freedom Park, near Miami International Airport, with Inter Miami scheduled to play its first MLS game in early 2020. However, on March 19, 2019, after lawsuits and other delays, have pushed the team to negotiate a deal with... Lockhart Stadium until at least 2022. The field is over 52 miles away (2 hours away with drive-time traffic). On August 19, 2019, The Freedom Park had ''Too Much Toxic Materials including Lead'' and some Miami Commissioner want the team to pay for the cleanup as part of their Lease. It is very likely Miami never actually hosts the team.

->Fundamentally, what went wrong was that the system was delayed, delayed, and delayed further, until finally it was delayed again, and subsequently delayed, before its final delay happened, before its ''eventual'' delayed release.

Development Hell becomes a sort of self-reinforcing feedback loop over time -- as one director gets fed up and quits, the project is assigned to a new director, who orders a new screenplay with a new vision, which results in producers demanding changes, wash, rinse, repeat etc. Projects in other media can sink into similar cesspits. Sometimes examples of this trope lead into cases of WhatCouldHaveBeen or TrailerDelay.

** Their games aren't free from it, either: the periodically updated ''Stinkoman 20X6'' had level 9 added in 2005, with a promise of the final level "coming soon". Over 10 years later, it hasn't been released yet.

* Ian Flynn's ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' fan comic ''Other-M'' suddenly stopped after thirty issues, despite plans for an "Act III". Considering that he went on to be [[PromotedFanboy the head writer for the official comics]] just a few years later in 2006, and continues to retain the role even after the "[[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie Comics]]" continuity ended in favor of starting fresh with "[[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW IDW]]", it's very likely to stay this way.

** The Hellgate Series, cowritten with Linda Evans, ended the second book on a cliffhanger and there's no sign from the publisher or the authors that a third book will ever come out.

** {{DevelopmentHell/Buildings}}
** DevelopmentHell/TransportationInfrastructure

* Other / Real Life

[[folder:Other / Real Life]]
* The Westfield Shopping Center in Bradford, UK. Originally planned in 1998 to spruce up the city's fairly unpleasant shopping area, it finally got approval in 2003. Buildings in the area were completely demolished by 2006 and dug out. A number of shops closed up to prepare to move into the new building. After Westfield decided to focus on other projects the city was left with an enormous demolished pit (referred to locally as 'The Hole') until 2010 when a small section of the site was turned into a park. As a result an entire chunk of the city was basically abandoned, with nearby shops closing up due to lack of people visiting the area. Construction finally got underway in 2014.
* The Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Rolled out in July 2007, the plans were for flights to begin in 2009, with stretched versions coming out within two to three years. Then, technical difficulties and parts delays meant the aircraft didn't make its first flight until December 2009. It wasn't until July 2011 that the 787-8 finally entered passenger service with All Nippon Airways. Then in December 2012, the aircrafts were grounded worldwide, due to problems with lithium-ion batteries catching fire on a few aircraft, including a Japan Airlines 787 at Logan International Airport and at least one pop-the-evacuation-slides emergency landing at Tokyo Haneda Airport by an ANA Dreamliner. Fortunately, once the problems with the base 787-8 model were resolved, production of the longer 787-9 was much faster, as it took its first flight in September 2013 and within a year, United Airlines, ANA and Air New Zealand had pressed their first -9s into regular service.
* [[Creator/NeonAlley Neon Alley]]. In Canada. [[http://www.viz.com/anime/ca_streaming Need I say more?]][[note]]That notice has been facing Canada since April 2014.[[/note]] In 2016, Creator/VizMedia brought some of its series to Canadian streamers through Tubi TV.
* Elsa's and Anna's inclusion into the ''Franchise/DisneyPrincess'' line has become this. It was announced in 2013, but as of 2015 it has yet to occur. Their merchandise often has the "Disney Princess" label on it but they're ''officially'' not under the line yet. Many fans believe that Disney realized what a CashCowFranchise ''Franchise/{{Frozen}}'' merchandise is and decided to postpone it until it loses popularity.
* The transition from [=IPv4=] to [=IPv6=] has been proceeding slowly, even though [=IPv4=] addresses have been exhausted. Modern operating systems and networking equipment have supported [=IPv6=] since the 2000s but [=ISPs=] have been slow to roll out [=IPv6=] because of a combination of the expense of upgrading and NAT reducing the demand for new IP addresses. Most [=ISPs=] implement dual-stack configurations that support both [=IPv6=] and [=IPv4=] for backward compatibility.
* The [=SpaceX=] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ca6x4QbpoM "Falcon Heavy."]] First announced in 2005, was supposed to have its first launch by around 2010, but has been delayed and re-announced so many times that it has gained a reputation for being perpetually 6 months away. The main problem is that it's basically three Falcon 9 rockets cobbled together, so every time the 9 is redesigned (once or twice a year), the Heavy also has to be redesigned, pushing back its completion by several more months. When or if it will actually make its debut remains to be seen.
** Finally rescued in February 2018 with the test mission that made news by [[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/science/falcon-heavy-spacex-launch.html launching a Tesla Roadster to an orbit around the Sun]]. It has also flown a commercial mission, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabsat-6A Arabsat-6A]].
* The creator of WebOriginal/{{Vine}} was displeased on how Twitter managed to acquire his creation and then mismanage it until it was shut down in 2017. So he decided to create a self-funded replacement named "V2" and planned to unveil it in mid-2018. However, lack of funds and legal troubles (for one, the logo is very similar to the Vine one) ensured that this project was [[https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/04/no-vine-2/ shelved indefinitely]].
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Família Sagrada Familia]] in Barcelona, Spain, broke ground in 1882 and was only 15-25% complete when its architect Antonio Gaudi died in 1926. Further delays were caused by the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar, fire damage, and the loss of the original plans. Completion is not expected until 2026.
* The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, a 105-story hotel that first broke ground in 1987. Economic recession however forced the project on hold, and the massive structure stood at full height unused and without any interior fixtures whatsoever from 1992 until 2008. The North Korea government hoped to have the structure ready for occupancy in time for the birthday of the late Kim Il-Sung in 2012, by which point the building's exterior had finally been finished only for construction to be halted ''yet again''. The government tried again to have it ready for 2013, only for that to be cancelled too for political reasons. As of 2020, the building remains unoccupied, and no new date for its final completion has been announced.
[[/folder]]

* Ian Flynn's ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' fan comic ''Other-M'' suddenly stopped after thirty issues, despite plans for an "Act III". Considering that he went on to be [[AscendedFan the head writer for the official comics]] just a few years later in 2006, and continues to retain the role even after the "[[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie Comics]]" continuity ended in favor of starting fresh with "[[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW IDW]]", it's very likely to stay this way.

* Ian Flynn's ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' fan comic ''Other-M'' suddenly stopped after thirty issues. Considering that Flynn later went on to be the head writer for the official American ''Sonic'', beginning during the final years of the "[[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie run]]" and continuing into the "[[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW IDW run]]", it's very likely to stay this way.

* Ian Flynn's infamous comic ''Other-M'' is currently unfinished, and since Ian is head writer for the current ''[[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie's Sonic]]'' and ''ComicBook/MegaMan'' comics it's likely to stay this way.

** In February of 2015, [[http://www.polygon.com/2015/2/26/8112963/battle-chasers-game-comic-joe-madureira it is announced that the comic book series might a comeback along with a game adaptation if Madureira's campaign is successful.]]

** ''ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder'' #11 and #12 don't look like they're ever going to happen.

* From 2018-2019, Creator/{{Mattel}}'s [[Franchise/DCUniverse DC Multiverse]] line unveiled a number of new figures at conventions and in press images. While many of these were ultimately made, [[Comicbook/GreenLantern Simon Baz]], 90s Comicbook/{{Catwoman}}, Impulse, ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' Comicbook/{{Aquaman}}, Mammoth, ''Anime/BatmanNinja'' [[Comicbook/TheJoker Joker]], classic [[Comicbook/TheRiddler Riddler]] and the ''Comicbook/DCRebirth'' versions of Comicbook/BlackCanary and Hawkgirl were all cancelled when Mattel lost the DC Multiverse license transferred to [[Creator/ToddMcFarlane McFarlane Toys]].