Tim Burton was originally set to direct 1996's gothic thriller Mary Reilly with Winona Ryder starring, but stepped away after the studio prioritised it over his passion project Ed Wood. Burton has since revealed he felt "pushed out" of the film when TriStar pushed to fast-track production with Julia Roberts in the lead role instead, forcing him to choose between the two projects.

Burton signed on to Mary Reilly in early 1993 but ultimately walked away to complete Ed Wood, which was released in 1994 to acclaim and won Martin Landau an Academy Award. Mary Reilly, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Roberts alongside Glenn Close and John Malkovich, proved a critical and commercial flop, earning Razzie nominations for Roberts (Worst Actress) and Frears (Worst Director) despite both having recent Oscar nominations to their names.