Legendary Director Reveals the Movie He Abandoned After He'd Already Started Casting It
Steven Spielberg has directed some of the biggest movies in history.
He also once walked away from one he had nearly finished casting, and the decision cost him an early shot at working with one of today's most in-demand actors. On a recent episode of Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast, Spielberg revealed he had planned a film about brothers Ira and George Gershwin and the making of their landmark opera Porgy and Bess. He had a script, he was excited, and he was already deep into casting it.
The Role Colman Domingo Almost Played
While searching for someone to play Todd Duncan, the baritone who originated Porgy on Broadway, Spielberg took a meeting with Colman Domingo. It was the first time the two met, and Spielberg said he left intending to cast Domingo in the part.
Then came the change of heart. The director had what he called a second thought about the project after getting unusually far along, and pulled the plug. "I decided not to continue making it," Spielberg said. He admitted that kind of reversal rarely happens once he is that deep into a movie.
A Collaboration Years in the Making
Spielberg did not forget Domingo. He cast him in 2012's Lincoln and later produced 2023's The Color Purple. The two finally worked together this year on the alien thriller Disclosure Day, which opened to about $93 million worldwide.
His taste for stage-to-screen stories paid off elsewhere too. Spielberg's 2021 remake of West Side Story earned seven Oscar nominations and a Supporting Actress win for Ariana DeBose.
Domingo, now a two-time Oscar nominee, got there eventually. The Porgy role slipped away, but Spielberg circled back, first with Lincoln and now with Disclosure Day in theaters.
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This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 11:21 AM.