Despite an announcement of the aforementioned cast being attached and a big name director who was making it very much a passion project, a book adaptation hit the skids.
Blood Meridian is based on a Cormac McCarthy novel and was to be helmed by James Franco, who is a huge fan of the work of McCarthy having previously made Child Of God . Not only that, it had Ryan Reynolds, Russell Crowe, Tye Sheridan and Vincent D’Onofrio attached - with Franco also appearing.
The book is set in the 1850's and is an unflinchingly grim tale, centring on a kid who encounters the violent Glanton Gang, who are known for scalping folk.
Franco, Reynolds, Sheridan and D'Onofrio are apparently all still attached, with Crowe anticipating a bump off of the already well received The Nice Guys (he was in the middle of negotiations) probably waiting things out after word he'll star opposite Tom Cruise in The Mummy.
The plan was for producers to sell the worldwide rights at Cannes, but it's believed the issue here is the complex handling of the book rights.
Via Empire
