William Friedkin’s unmade sci-fi movie that would have united Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, and Steve McQueen
In the mid-1970s, William Friedkin had his pick of the projects after reaching the pinnacle of the industry through back-to-back classics, but it remains entirely unknown if he could have gone three-for-three when his original plans to follow them up ended up falling through.
Although he was already an experienced filmmaker by that point, it wasn’t until the release of his fifth feature that Friedkin was welcomed into the directorial A-list when The French Connection burned rubber on its way to being anointed an instant classic, a box office sensation, and an awards season darling.
The hard-boiled crime thriller recouped its budget more than 30 times over from cinemas, endures to this day as one of Hollywood’s greatest-ever tales of cops and criminals, earned him an Academy Award for ‘Best Director’, and won another four trophies including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Actor’.
Opting to take a complete detour into supernatural territory for his follow-up, Friedkin then turned his attention to The Exorcist. Lightning struck twice when the seminal tale of demonic possession earned ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’ nominations, won ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’, and became the highest-grossing R-rated release in cinema history.
The world was his oyster at this point, which saw Friedkin begin to develop a UFO-central story called The Devil’s Triangle. While specifics remain unknown, it’s easily inferred that he was hoping to capitalise on the decade’s obsession with the Bermuda Triangle, and he was eying a heavyweight trio to lead the cast with Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, and Steve McQueen in his sights.
There were two main factors that prevented it from coming together, and only one of them was within his control. The spiralling costs and extended shooting schedule of cult favourite Sorcerer saw Friedkin place The Devil’s Triangle further and further towards the back burner, with his focus placed solely on dragging his action thriller across the finish line come hell or high water.
By the time the end result finally made its way into cinemas in June 1977 – where it proceeded to bomb – Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind was only months away from release. Of course, the Jaws director’s sci-fi opens with an alien abduction taking place in the Bermuda Triangle, which helped convince Friedkin that his own spin on the mysterious location was no longer worth pursuing.
As fascinating as it would have been to see Brando, McQueen, and Heston under Friedkin’s direction, it was probably the right call. After all, beyond Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the 70s also had Satan’s Triangle, Beyond the Bermuda Triangle, The Bermuda Depths, The Fantastic Journey, Bermuda: Cave of the Sharks, and Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle to cover much the same ground, so another one really wasn’t required.
