The villainous crimes of Charles Manson cannot be understated, as he not only committed violent crimes himself, but used his ways of persuasion to get his followers, the “Manson Family,” to murder innocent people in his name. Multiple performers have attempted to embrace the sadistic persona in various projects over the years, with Bloody Disgusting unearthing a sizzle reel for a project in which The Devil’s Rejects star Bill Moseley was slated to play the criminal.
The film, known as “Manson Girls,” never actually began production, with the above sizzle reel being produced in hopes of conveying the film’s tone to procure funding.
Videos by ComicBook.com
In addition to Moseley starring as Manson, Freddy vs. Jason‘s Monica Keena and Orange is the New Black‘s Taryn Manning were attached to the project, which first started moving forward back in 2011.
The abandoned project claimed it would “chronicle how eight young women in Charles Manson’s brood came from diverse and even privileged backgrounds to become the most notorious female serial killers of the decade’s Love Generation.”
Additionally, it would “follow the girls’ pre-Manson teen years through their indoctrination into the Family and up to the bloody summer of 1969 when their violent ‘Helter Skelter’ campaign that rocked Los Angeles and the counterculture community.”
Dating all the way back to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Moseley gained a devout following due to his frenetic portrayals of a variety of characters. One of his most iconic roles would be Otis Driftwood in House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects, often speaking to the rest of his family and his victims like a preacher, drawing similarities between his character and the real-life Manson.
Not only were their mannerisms similar, but some of Otis’ lines of dialogue were taken directly from statements Manson made to authorities.
With Manson Girls struggling to find funding, there was no official word on the project moving forward, with rumblings emerging in 2014 that the film would begin shooting in 2015. If that were true at the time, it was with a plan that didn’t include Moseley.
“There’s no deal; hell, no one’s even negotiating,” Moseley posted on Twitter back in 2014. “Not signed to play Charles Manson in any movie, made-for-TV movie, after school special, webisode, etc.”
Whether the film is gone for good or if Manson’s recent passing will revive interest in the project is yet to be seen.
[H/T Bloody Disgusting]