Racy 'Gilligan's Island' Movie Was Planned and Scrapped — Years After Bob Denver's Death
'Gilligan's Island' has had a rough road to potentially becoming a movie.
Sept. 1 2026, Published 4:54 p.m. ET
A movie version of Gilligan's Island involving series creator Sherwood Schwartz was announced by Warner Bros. in early 2010, but the remake never made it to the big screen.
21 years after sitcom star Bob Denver passed away, RadarOnline.com revisits the failed project – and what his wife, Dreama, didn't approve of about the script.
'Gilligan's Island' Movie Plans Included Racy Moment
'Gilligan's Island' ran from 1964 to 1967.
The film was meant to take a more modern approach to the 1960s comedy that followed seven people stranded on an island after a boat wreck, per Variety.
In the original series, Bob played the role of the S.S. Minnow's first mate, Gilligan. Other members of the cast included Alan Hale Jr. as The Skipper, Dawn Wells as Mary Ann, Tina Louise as Ginger, Russel Johnson as The Professor, Natalie Schafer as Lovey, and Jim Backus as Thurston.
However, according to a resurfaced 2010 interview with Dreama, plans for the movie included a risqué storyline and nudity.
"My God, Mary Ann running around n-ked? I can see spicing it up a bit, but not to that extent," she said in an interview shared with Radar.
'No One Can Replace Bob as Gilligan'
Bob Denver passed away in 2005.
"I would like to see the movie stick to the original innocence of the show," she added at the time. "That’s what’s made it survive on TV for years. That’s what the fans would like."
As for actor that she'd like to see play her husband's classic role, Dreama said, "In my heart, no one can replace Bob as Gilligan."
'Gilligan's Island' Movie Shipwrecked at Studios
The 'Gilligan's Island' movie was scrapped.
However, the movie never came to be. It was eventually scrapped following alleged issues with property rights and studio interest.
Years later, Sherwood Schwartz's son, Lloyd J. Schwartz, told Women's World that he wasn't sure a similar remake of the hit show would ever be made, but he still held onto hopes.
"I think we're mired in who's going to run Warner Brothers after the Paramount acquisition of the company, because Gilligan went from United Artists to MGM to Ted Turner to Turner Pictures, which merged with Warner Brothers," he explained of complications regarding the rights to the program.
Tell-All 'Gilligan's Island' Book Being Written by Creator's Son
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Lloyd J. Schwartz is writing a book on failed 'Gilligan's Island' projects.
But Lloyd still plans to document the repeated attempts to bring Gilligan's Island to a movie format for more than 40 years.
"My book on the making of the Gilligan movie – of which there is none – is on page 610. It's called Invitation to a Shipwreck," he told the outlet at the time. "When I started writing it, it was, 'Now we're going to make this movie, and I'm taking you with me.' I'd go into meetings and say, 'This is what's going to happen.' And I was always wrong."
When discussing the eventual end to his tell-all tome, he said he had two options.
"One is that I now believe there will never be a movie, and the other is that we’re getting ready to do a movie," he concluded.
