Is James Franco Still Blacklisted in Hollywood? The Projects He’s Taken On Since Sexual Misconduct Allegations

James Franco used to be one of those guys who could bounce between prestige indies and giant studio tentpoles without breaking a sweat. Then the 2018 misconduct allegations hit, the work dried up, and he basically disappeared from mainstream Hollywood for a while. Judging by the current chatter, a lot of people still are not ready to see him back.

The tweet that set fans off

Over the weekend, an X user posted a throwback shot of Franco as Harry Osborn standing next to Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker with the caption: 'Imagine if they reunite in #AvengersDoomsday.' It was pure wish-casting, not a real project. The reactions were... not nostalgic. Replies were full of people saying Franco is 'canceled' or straight-up 'banned' from Hollywood. One reply that got traction: 'James Franco is banned from Hollywood.'

Just to be clear: there is no official Marvel plan to bring Franco back as Harry, and 'banned' is not a literal industry rule. But it does capture how a chunk of the audience still feels.

So what is Franco actually doing now?

Despite the online temperature checks, he has been stacking indie and international work again. Per his IMDb, he has nine acting projects on the board: three currently filming, two in post, one in pre, and three completed but unreleased. No, most of these do not have dates yet. Yes, there are a lot of them.

• Bunny-Man (role: Austin Boyd) — Release year listed as 2025, no day/month yet. A multimillionaire, anonymous rapper in a bunny mask loses his 'perfect life' and turns vigilante, hunting the people whose actions led to his sister's death.
• Toad — Filming. Comedy about two clueless guys who accidentally ingest psychedelic toads while transporting them, triggering a trippy LA-to-Vegas road adventure.
• The Razor's Edge (role: Dante) — Post-production. An action-thriller about a former mob hitman forced into one last job after his daughter is kidnapped and his love interest is targeted, all while a relentless assassin closes in.
• The Long Home (role: Dallas Hardin) — Completed. R-rated drama about a young contractor hired to build a honky-tonk in Tennessee by the man who killed his father. Franco also directed this one.
• Kill the Czar — Completed. Thriller about a mysterious outsider blackmailed by a vicious filmmaker into committing an exceptional act of violence, then fighting to save the woman she loves. Franco is in the top-billed cast; the character name is still under wraps.
• Golden State Killer — Completed. Psychological horror/crime story tracking the serial rapist and murderer who terrorized California in the 1970s and 80s. Franco appears among the cast.
• Free Texas (role: Warren) — Pre-production. A dystopian action thriller about a covert American platoon stuck behind enemy lines, sheltered by an Arabic family, and pushed to their breaking point.
• Foster (role: Donald 'Don' Foster) — Filming. A recovering addict has to protect a boy left with him by an addict, while his former crime boss, Brooks, comes hunting and his own past catches up.
• Castro's Daughter (as Fidel Castro) — Post-production. A Spanish historical drama about Alina Fernandez, the exiled daughter of Fidel Castro.

Release timing is mostly a question mark right now. Only Bunny-Man publicly lists 2025, and even that is just the year. Beyond acting, he is also attached as an executive producer on an untitled 90s project and is producing The Long Home and the TV short James Franco 'Art Projects'.

What he has done since stepping back

After the accusations surfaced, he did voice work in 2019's Arctic Dogs, then largely went quiet. He re-emerged in 2024 with TV series Karantina, plus films The Price of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure and Hey Joe. His most recent release was Squali earlier this year, which opened in Italy.

The allegations and the fallout, in plain English

In January 2018, five women accused Franco of sexual misconduct in a Los Angeles Times report; four were his acting students. One of them, Sarah Tither-Kaplan, later said on Good Morning America:

'He abused his power by exploiting the non-celebrity women that he worked with under the guise of giving them opportunities.'

At the time, Franco's lawyer denied the claims and pointed to Franco's appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he said the Twitter accusations were not accurate but that he supported people speaking out.

In 2021, Franco reached a settlement with Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, former students who filed a lawsuit in 2019. Court records show he agreed to pay $2,235,000. That same year, on The Jess Cagle Podcast, he admitted to having relationships with some students and said he sought treatment for sex addiction.

More recently, in a Variety interview, he addressed being effectively sidelined by the industry and tried to put a period on it:

'I mean, it is what it is. I have honestly moved past it. It was dealt with, and I got to change. So that is it, it is over. I mean, I have worked in the U.S. too. So I am just trying to move on.'

'Yes, of course, rejection is painful, being told you are bad is painful. But ultimately, that is kind of what I needed to just stop going the way I was going.'

Where this leaves him

He is clearly working again, mostly outside the studio spotlight, and he has a surprising number of projects lined up. Whether audiences want to see him back in bigger, more visible roles is another thing entirely. There is no official blacklist, but there is definitely a memory. If and when any of these films actually land a release date, we will see how much that matters.