Here is a look at the projects Rose was once listed to be a part of, or just general rumors which lasted for months. Either way the projects here are scrapped indefinitely. For a list of Rose's official current upcoming movies, read at the filmography.

Rose McGowan as Red Sonja
Directed by Douglas Aarniokoski
Written by Roy Thomas (creator), David N. White (sceenplay)
Release Year 2009
Status Rose is no longer attached but the movie hasn't begun filming

This is perhaps the most disappointing of all of Rose's rumored films because not only was it once 100% official but we were teased with images of Rose McGowan in her Red Sonja getup at the 2008 Comic-Con convention. We got posters and promos galore of our lady sword welding with her vivid red hair. We waited months and months, only to hear news of the project being further delayed and post-poned. We had our hopes lifted when Robert Rodriguez reassured us the movie would go before cameras in 2010 and Rose herself confirmed she was still planning to do the project. But hiccup after hiccup, including the unfortunate injury of Rose McGowan's elbow during stunt training left Red Sonja being delayed what felt like forever. Then in early 2010 we got report that Rose was no longer attached, Rodriguez no longer to produce and the film going in a new direction all together. Perhaps the most annoying thing of all is Nu Image/Millennium Films' Conan (which wasn't originally scheduled to even be filmed until after Red Sonja's release) is being filmed and due for release in 2011.

The over all reason for the film being scrapped (with Rose) was never truly revealed - budget and injury issues took part and people expressed concerns over if Rose could carry the picture on her shoulders and make bank - similiar concerns with Barbarella - since she's not the most commercial of actresses. While many still blame the drama regarding the relationship (less business, more personal) of Robert and Rose for most of their collaboration projects being scrapped. Ultimately, it seems that the pieces didn't come together on this one, which happens more often in Hollywood than you might think. We just got teased early since Rodriguez likes to jump the gun with promotional imagery before he even films a movie (similiar tactics were done with Sin City and Grindhouse) so we ultimately saw this one play out publically over two years.

No new actress has been announced in the role on Red Sonja although Megan Fox was speculated and later denied by her publicist. However, the good news regarding the Red Sonja drama is Rose will still get her big screen action role in the Conan universe because she will have a part in the Conan movie. She'll now play "an evil half-human/half-witch". No, it's not Red Sonja - but we'll take it!

If you would like to learn more about what would have been with Red Sonja, read here.

Rose McGowan as n/a
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Written by Josh Miller, Mark Fortin
Release Year 2008
Status Unknown

It was announced in May 2008 by The Hollywood Reporter that director Robert Rodriguez is shopping around Women in Chains!. The spec script, penned by Josh Miller and Mark Fortin, has been sent to a number of networks, including NBC and FX.

McGowan was set play one of five chained women at the center of the show, which Rodriguez is expected to direct. The two first worked together on last year's Planet Terror, Rodriguez's homage to 1970s exploitation flicks. The new show also is rumored to be fashioned with a 1970s exploitation sensibility, with such staples like mud wrestling. Details about the plot were first leaked to AintItCool.com.

Update (June 2010): Unfortunately we haven't heard anything more on this project in two years so it seems like it may have been scrapped all together, like many other Robert/Rose collaborations.

Rose McGowan as Barbarella
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade
Release Year 2008
Status Rose is no longer attached but the movie is currently in development by Dino de Laurentiis and Robert Luketic

It was announced in May 2007 that Robert Rodriguez would direct Barbarella, a remake of the 1968 film starring Jane Fonda as a futuristic mercenary. There has ever since been rumors that Rose McGowan would take the starring role. These were fueled in July when Rose changed her hair color to a Barbarella esque strawberry blonde.

In August Joblo.com's scooper, a guy they call Zeiss, claimed that Rodriguez is nearing the start of production on Barbarella, and that they have already done some FX test footage with McGowan standing in as the space vixen.

In September MTV Movies Blog reported the following:

I chatted for a bit with Jessica Alba yesterday and we were talking about her action chops as an actress. Basically, she said she really wants to do another big action role, so I threw out Barbarella as a possibility. She paused and simply said, "Isn't that going to Rose? I think it is."

The latest development is that the film is slated to start shooting in Austin in November 2007 - but no leading lady has yet been announced. Stay tuned!

Update (November 2007): Robert Rodriguez has confirmed that Rose McGowan was slated to star in the title role. However, they have encountered problems with the budget and the future of Barbarella remains unknown. Please read the latest developments here.

Update (July 2008): Says Rodriguez:

This one kind of took its place because I'm committed to another project in the fall.

Says McGowan:

It's kind of sad. There's 70 million dollars of funding totally there but it would have to wait for a year and half and we'd have to go to Germany for a long time. Not that's there anything wrong with Germany, but it's so far in the future that literally he could get two more movies, I could get another movie or do a TV show. People just don't understand that usually, you've got 20 different things going on at once, hoping that one sticks. If an actor or director had only one thing they were trying to produce or get made, they would be in the poorhouse. They'd be screwed. You're always trying to hustle. I'm gonna hustle at the end of the day. Hopefully, it's something really good. It's like juggling. You don't know what's going to stick and what's going to fall. It's not like something that dramatically fell apart. You ask and director or producer here, they'll tell you the same thing.

Update (June 2010): Rose McGowan is no longer attached to star in the pic, nor will it be directed by Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez was forced to abandon the project after it was dropped by Universal and he was unable to find another financing deal. Now Barbarella is still in development and on June 9, 2010, Robert Luketic confirmed to IndieMovies that he and producer Dino de Laurentiis are currently hard at work on their remake of the movie.

Rose McGowan as Ava Lord
Directed by Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller
Written by Frank Miller
Release Year Unknown (post-poned)
Status On hold

Angelina Jolie was originally said to be Robert Rodriguez's first choice in the role of Ava, so much so that he was delaying production to correspond with her pregnancy, according to Rosario Dawson, but a subsequent article stated there are three rumored frontrunners for the role of Ava Lord: Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, and Rose McGowan. Frank Miller himself confirmed that he and Rodriguez were interested in having Jolie as Ava, and that the director was discussing the possibility with her. Jolie later discussed in an article that she read the comic and plans to meet with the director when the movie is planned to be made. It has also been reported that Angelina Jolie has been replaced by Rachel Weisz as the front runner to play Ava but the rumors of Rose stepping in the shoes have also been strong and frequent.

During the Grindhouse press junket one of the interviewers asked Rose, "Is there any chance of seeing you in Sin City?". Rose just smiled and he said, "I'll take that as a yes then" to which Rose replied, "I dont know, I just like smiling". Later Dawson, who co-starred with Rose in Death Proof, said: "The lead actress is going to be absolutely fabulous — but I can't tell you who it is."

Update (June 2010): Another of many Robert/Rose team-ups that seems to have lost all traction. It was never confirmed, just highly rumored Rose would even take part, but now it seems as though there isn't a part to play because we haven't heard any talk about Sin City 2 in years. Robert Rodriguez has also been busy at work on Machete and producing this summer's Predators. He also has announced that he will next be working on Spy Kids 4 coming in 3-D with a potential release date of August 19, 2011. While during these years Frank Miller was working on his comics and also made his second directorial feature, The Spirit - which bombed critically and commercially. Sin City 2 almost feels inevitable at some point given the beloved novels and success of the first film - but it seems like it's going to come down to a matter of timing.

Rose McGowan as Clara Bow
Directed by Unknown
Written by Unknown
Release Year Unknown
Status Unknown

Rose McGowan is a long time fan of Clara Bow and it has been a dream of hers to portray the silent film actress in a movie. Back in 1999, at Hugh Hefner's bash for Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl, Rose admitted she'd "do anything" to play Bow in writer David Stanton's screenplay on the actress. Anything? "I'll even cut my hair off."

Apparently Rose did indeed win the role of Clara Bow. Telegraph Magazine back in 2001 reported that Rose was to star in a film based on the life of Bow. It is a source of tremendous pride for Rose that Bow's son had approved her to play his mother, since he has spent the past few decades turning down offers left, right and center. The second he laid eyes on McGowan, he chose her to portray the tragic actress.

"She was sent to a mental institute, which she loved, strangely enough, because life had been so awful: her dad molested her, her mother tried to stab her to death. As sexualized as she was, she was also very innocent", said Rose of Clara Bow.

The status of the Clara Bow biopic is unknown now, six years later. But Rose did recently mention that it is still her biggest dream to portray Bow in the future. Here's to hoping it will happen one day!

To learn more about Clara Bow, check out the following resources: IMDb & The Clara Bow Page

Update (November 2007): Rose McGowan comments on the fate of the picture:

I would love for it to be in the works. Unfortunately, when the script came in, it was just not there. There are rights issues to the story that would prohibit it being rewritten by someone else. That one was a heartbreaker. However, this question has reminded me to look into it again!