A Confederacy of Dunces: The True Story of Hollywood’s Cursed Film Adaptation

Most of the time, when a novel achieves legendary status, we can assume that it will eventually be turned into a film.

But, there are a few classic novels that have never made it to the big screen for some reason or another. One such novel is John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces.

If you haven’t read A Confederacy of Dunces, first and foremost, the novel follows its main character Ignatius J. Reilly as he wanders (fairly aimlessly) through New Orleans.

Over the years, as prospective filmmakers have set out to make an adaptation, the first question they had to answer was: “Who will play Ignatius?”

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After Belushi’s death, the film rights to the novel were sold to an oil magnate named John Langdon, who wanted to make a version with John Candy in the lead role of Ignatius.

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Candy, however, passed on the role, forcing John Langdon and his team to go on a wild goose chase for a new leading man.

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More than 10 years after the novel was originally published, there was definitely still interest in Hollywood.

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Every indication points to the fact that this version of the film would have made it to the big screen if Chris Farley hadn’t died in 1997.

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