After reading Cervantes' "Don Quixote" in 1989, TerryGilliam decided to try an adaptation. The film has the same name as the novel. In 1990, he signed an agreement with Phoenix Films. Sean Connery and Nigel Hawthorne were Don Quixote candidates. Danny DeVito also discussed the role of Sanko Penza. But in the end because the budget was too low, Gilliam withdrew from the project. At that time, the production company tried to replace Gilliam with director Fred Sheppici, and the starring was changed to John Chris and Robin Williams, but the plan was cancelled in 1997. Later, Gilliam resumed his collaboration with screenwriter Toby Grisoni, and the film was renamed "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote". In this version, the protagonists are not Don Quixote and Pan Qiu. The latter is replaced by Toby who has met Don Quixote in the 21st century
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In 1998, TerryGilliam's film "Fear of Las Vegas" premiered in the UK, and he also announced that his next film would be "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote". This time, he decided to make the film in Europe, the location was Spain, and the budget was reduced from the original US$40 million to US$32.1 million. Gilliam invited French actor Jean Rescheff to play the leading role, and Rescheff studied English for 7 months; John De Nipp played the role of Toby, Depp’s girlfriend Vanessa Paradis Acting as the heroine
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In September 2000, "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" officially opened in Bardenas, northern Spain. On the first day of shooting, F16 fighter jets flew back and forth in the air, damaging the recording. The next day, a flash flood broke out, important equipment was damaged, and the color of the scene changed. After the crew searched for some new equipment and resumed filming, Reschev went to Paris to see a doctor and was diagnosed with double intervertebral disc disease. Eventually, this project was stopped in November 2000. The German insurance company claimed that this brought them 15 million U.S. dollars in damages, and later took away the copyright of the script as a mortgage
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In 2005, Gilliam once again showed interest in "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote", hoping that Gérard Depardieu would play Don Quixote. However, due to the various unsatisfactory effects before, it is difficult for him to get financial support from the film company
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At the Munich International Documentary Film Festival in 2006, Gilliam revealed that this project is still in play, and the producer Jeremy Thomas is very interested. In August, he stated that the legal dispute about the film had been resolved and he planned to remake the film completely
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In 2008, Gilliam resumed film preparations. In January 2009, he rewrote the script; in December, he released news that Robert Duvall will play Don Quixote and Depp will still play Toby. But in fact Johnny Depp has signed with Disney and will not take time to star in Gilliam's film. On September 5, 2010, Gilliam said that there was a funding problem, so the filming was postponed again
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In November 2013, Gilliam told the media at the Venice Film Festival that he was trying to remake "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote". In January 2014, Gilliam stated on social media that the project would be restarted. Later, in an interview, he said that the film will start shooting in the Canary Islands on September 29 of the same year, and Spanish producer Adrian Guerra will provide funding. In August, Gilliam revealed to the media that the script had changed, and the story was contemporary, focusing on the wounds of the movie. In September, Gilliam confirmed that John Hurt replaced Duval as Don Quixote; in December, The film announced Jack O'Connell as Toby. In December 2015, John Hurt was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and film production was interrupted again
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In February 2016, Portuguese producer Paul Blanca promised Gilliam to give him funds to start filming for 11 weeks. At this time, the starring lineup changed again. Adam Douglas Driver played Toby, Mike Palin played Don Quixote, and Oga Kurylenko played the leading role. Before long, Blanca wanted to take control of the entire project, reduce the originally set budget, tried to replace Palin, abandon the 35mm equipment, and switch to digital equipment, while threatening Gilliam. As Gilliam did not accept any conditions after the changes, the funds were not available and the project stalled. This also caused Gilliam to have a heart attack
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In March 2017, "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" was filmed again, and the role of Don Quixote was changed to Jonathan Pryce. On June 4, the film finally came to an end after 17 years
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When the film is about to be released, there are twists and turns in the regeneration. Producer Paul Blanca said that the agreement signed with Gilliam in 2016 is still valid and that he owns part of the rights and that the film cannot be released without his consent. This lawsuit will affect the screening of "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" at the 2018 Cannes International Film Festival. On May 7, 2018, a hearing was held on whether the film could go to Cannes. On May 9, the film was allowed to be screened as the closing film at the festival
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