10 Movie Sequels That Were Almost Released
Published in Entertainment at April 19th, 2017 at 4:35 AM
10 Movie sequels that were almost released from movies you would sure to see sequels of for examples The Matrix 4 and some we glad that were not released, like Mrs. Doubtfire 2, Space Jam 2, and mario bro's 2 :(
Mrs. Doubtfire 2
Along with Forrest Gump, Mrs. Doubtfire is yet another big screen adaptation in our list that started out as a novel. Written in 1987, under the original name ‘Madame Doubtfire’ - Mrs. Doubtfire surfaced as a movie in November 1993, quickly becoming a box office hit and winning several awards. Although, even with it’s huge achievements, Mrs. Doubtfire wasn’t really a movie begging for a sequel, especially since the ending to the movie, was more of a closed book, than a new chapter. Even Robin Williams thought the idea was unnecessary, stating: “At the end of the first one, they reveal who Mrs. Doubtfire is, It doesn’t work.”
Very few detail was ever released about the original plans, but what we do know is that the first draft included Robin Williams character, Daniel, following his daughter, Lydia, to college to keep an eye on her, while pretending to be a woman. One can only assume it would have been a new character, due to the children now knowing that their father is Mrs. Doubtfire.
Eventually, though, Williams actually signed up for a sequel, which began development in April 2014. According to the director, Williams signed on because they’d found the perfect story, but unfortunately, due to the actors sad passing in 2014, that perfect story never came to life.
Space Jam 2
Back in the 90’s when Michael Jordan and Looney Tunes where relevant, Space Jam was a big hit, but does it really need a sequel? Well, worried that Space Jam hadn’t satisfied the public’s thirst for athletes playing sports with Looney Tunes characters, the creators very nearly made a sequel. This time, though, it didn’t involve basketball. They were going down a more stale route.. of playing golf.
The movie was rumoured to be about Tiger Woods playing golf with Bugs Bunny in outer space. Yes folks, that movie plot almost made it to a theatre near you. A full script was written, and the original director, Joe Pytka, was brought in to read and review it. Unfortunately he never shared much regarding the script, apart from one quick response, stating: “It was a strange script.”
Pytka didn’t agree on a sequel, and thought the movie shouldn't happen. “The first film is always the best one,” he said. “The Godfather 2 is not as good as The Godfather 1.”... Wait a second? - Did the director of Space Jam really just compare his movie about Michael Jordan playing basketball with cartoons, to The Godfather...wow... anyway, moving on.
Hollywood being Hollywood, they didn’t give up on trying to create a Space Jam sequel. Dwight Howard tried to secure a Space Jam movie, which never happened because, frankly, most people don’t know who Dwight Howard is. But now, 21 years later, they’re actually working on a Space Jam 2 with LeBron James. When Asked for his thoughts about the sequel, Pytka simply said, “It’s doomed.”
The Matrix 4
We all know that anything is possible in The Matrix, although not being able to state claim for ever taking the red pill and entering the Matrix ourselves, we are pretty familiar with the concept. On January 24, 2011, entertainment writers and media went crazy after hearing that Keanu Reeves - who plays NEO in the movie series - had confirmed that there would supposedly be ‘at least’, another two more entries in The Matrix franchise.
This claim from Keanu came during a speech he was giving at the London International School of Performing Arts. But speculation arose, when one small detail was dropped: Keanu Reeves - the man the media claimed had just confirmed more Matrix awesomeness - was never even at the London International School of Performing Arts.
The incredibly hyped sequel news - which many publications around the globe actually picked up and ran with—was nothing, but a hoaxy con. Reeves’ representatives further commented that “none of it was true… he did not speak nor did he get an award from the London International School of Performing Arts.”...woops.
We may not be seeing a ‘Matrix 4’ - but news has recently spread, that Zak Penn has been brought in to write a new addition to The Matrix series. Penn has clarified that this will not be a ‘Reboot’ or ‘Remake’ but simply, an addition to ‘The Matrix Universe’ with Michael B. Jordan being considered for the lead role... Morpheus origin story, anyone?
Gladiator 2
Are you not entertained, with just one movie? - Well, when it comes to sequels there are a lot of rumours and unusual reports about them. But when talks of Gladiator 2 came about, we don't know which part is stranger: the fact that studio executives approached musician Nick Cave to write it, that John Logan also wrote a version of the script, Or that it never got made at all.
In July 2013, Nick Cave finally set the record straight for all of us curious types, and basically, it was all true! - Cave is good friends with Russell Crowe, and explained that it was Crowe who approached HIM about the project. Yes, we know, you’re probably all asking “‘Hey Russell, didn't you die in Gladiator 1?” and if so, Russell Crowe’s response would have been “Yeah, you sort that out” - which was his response when Nick Cave asked the same question.
So what was the idea for Gladiator 2? - Well, Maximus was to be sent down to purgatory by the gods, who are dying in heaven due to one god, a Christ type character, who is down on Earth gaining popularity. So Maximus is sent back, to kill Christ and his followers… Cave wanted to call it ‘Christ Killer’ and when all was said and done near the end of the movie, it would be explained that the main god was Maximus’ son, realising he was tricked by the gods, he has to kill his own son. He then becomes an eternal warrior and the movie was to end with a 20-minute war scene following all the wars in history, right up to Vietnam.
Cave recalled the writing process, saying: ‘it was wild. It was a stone cold masterpiece.” He also recalled Crowe’s reaction, simply being: “Don’t like it, mate.” - We’re lead to believe Nick Cave enjoyed writing it very much, but boy are we glad it didn’t get made. Although that 20-minute war scene, could have been something pretty epic!
Forrest Gump 2: Gump & Co.
Forrest Gump, the movie that made Tom Hanks walk away with a Best Actor Oscar. Six months on from the Oscar winning moment, author Winston Groom released Gump & Co. - if you didn’t know, Forrest Gump was originally a 1986 novel. Gump & Co. was a sequel to the original novel upon which the film was based. The follow up book starts out with a small nod to the big screen adaptation, with Forrest expressing to the reader “Don't never let nobody make a movie of your life's story”.
Gump & Co. offers more of the similar -right place at the right time- kind of moments that the first book, and movie did, this time, Forrest invents new coca cola, crashes the Exxon Valdez, and even goes as far as knocking down the Berlin Wall. Which, of course at the time, set the Hollywood Hills alive with the sound of “sequel”.
The returning Eric Roth penned the script, but before he turned it in, he sat down with Tom Hanks & Bob Zemeckis to discuss the idea. He was quoted saying: “We sat down—Tom, Bob and I—looked at each other and said, we don’t think this is relevant anymore. The world has changed, now time has obviously passed, but maybe some things should just be one thing and left as they are.” Last we heard of this project, Paramount had begun taking another look at it, way back in 2007, so if you’re holding out hope for a second Forrest Gump movie… you may want to just purchase the novel.
Super Mario Bros. 2
In our opinion this was a movie, that realistically, should never have even been thought about when it comes to sequels. For those of us who have been unfortunate enough to view The Super Mario Bros. movie, know it ended with a cliffhanger. A scene, where Daisy bursts into a room, yelling to Mario and Luigi, “You gotta come with me! I need your help!”. Story goes, it was supposed to draw the audience in and keep us all on the edge of our seats, begging for that Mario sequel. But instead, people just begged them never to make another movie.
Believe it or not though, they actually had a sequel planned, and they were awaiting the go ahead to make it. It was going to follow the plot of Super Mario 2, the game! - Where Mario dreams that he’s playing Super Mario 2, suddenly awaking in his bed, unsure if the events that just occurred actually took place, or were all a dream.
In the film version, Mario and Luigi would travel to Princess Toadstool’s dimension once again. There, they run into Toad, who would throw them a huge party and blast out an awesome guitar solo - because, this was the ’90's after all. Soon after, the bad guy - going by the name of Wart - would appear on screen claiming he’s taken over the city - The Mario brothers would then jump into action, to stop him. Thankfully that movie was never made. But it was brought to life, as a comic, which you can find and read online.
Eight (Seven Sequel)
Seven was a movie that revolved around a serial killer, using the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi, so to think about making an ‘Eight’ just seems a ridiculous idea right? - Director David Fincher seems to think so. When asked about whether or not he would be involved in anything related to the ‘Eight’ movie, David Fincher made his feelings on a sequel, very clear. When appearing at an event to promote “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, Fincher responded to a fan’s question about the sequel, stating “I would be less interested in that than I would in having cigarettes put out in my eyes,” he continued with, “I keep trying to get out from under my own shadow… I don’t want to do the same movies over and over.”
Along with David Fincher, neither Brad Pitt nor Morgan Freeman seemed interested in reprising their roles in a sequel. But the studio had already created a script, that revolved around a psychic who worked with the FBI to help track a serial killer, and they weren’t ready to murder that idea just yet. So the script underwent a little tinkering and turned into the movie ‘Solace’ - released in 2015, starring Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell and Jeffrey Dean Morgan- ‘Solace’ sticks to the same scripted ‘Eight’ idea, but has nothing to do with the aforementioned ‘Seven’.
Star Wars Episode V: Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye
Believe it or not, there was a time when no one thought Star Wars would be a hit. Either way, George Lucas wanted to create a sequel - even if he had to make it on an incredibly low budget. And so, what nearly came into existence was, Star Wars Episode V: Splinter of the Mind’s Eye.
The original idea for this Star Wars movie, wasn’t even going to feature Han Solo. At the time, the creators didn’t think they were going to be able to afford Harrison Ford, so decided to plan ahead, not involving him in the story at all.
Instead, this sequel would revolve around Luke and Leia, involved in a crash-landing on a swamp based planet - which is actually a planet still involved in episode V - they find out about the existence of a magical crystal that is known to amplify the Force. Soon enough, they find themselves in a race against time, to find the crystal before Darth Vader does.
The original idea, involved Luke dragging his sister Leia around pretending that she’s a slave girl of sorts, and striking her when she talked back to him. Oh, and did we mention that Luke and Leia were made to fall in love - which is a little weird given the whole sibling connection.
The movie was to end with a lightsaber battle between Luke and Vader - which Luke would end up winning. Switching roles, it’s actually Luke who chops Vader’s arm off, so him and Leia could run off with the crystal. Thankfully Episode 5 became ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ but even though this plot wasn’t made into a movie, you can still find it in book form, as it was released as a novel in 1978.
Toy Story 3: Toy Story In Taiwan
When Disney and Pixar had disagreements following the production of Toy Story 2, Disney kept the rights to Pixar’s movies - and Disney wanted revenge. It was therefore decided that, with or without Pixar, Disney would basically, carry on making sequels to all Pixar’s movies. Disney even went as far as setting up a whole studio to create them, which they called Circle 7.
Fronted by the team behind their direct-to-DVD movies, Disney set to it, working on what would be a Toy Story 3, the world never saw. Their first bundle of ideas revolved around making Toy Story 3, more of a who dunnit? mystery based story, but that got passed over for another pitch. The toys were jetting off to Taiwan.
In the story, Buzz Lightyear would begin to malfunction, without the means to repair Buzz, the gang see it best, to send him to his original manufacturer, in Taiwan. They later discover that a huge recall on Buzz Lightyear toys has been made, meaning the returned Buzz, was in line to be destroyed. Fearing the worst, the toys fly to Taiwan, where they find an unconscious Buzz, a scene was also involved where the toys must perform surgery on Buzz.
Of Course, some themes and elements did make it into the final cut. For example, both versions seem to deal with the idea of rejected toys. Furthermore, they both seem to feature a scene in which the toys end up on the edge of fiery destruction.
E.T 2 - Nocturnal Fears
Some may call it 80’s greed, but after the huge success of Spielberg’s heartwarming story about the blossoming friendship between a child and an alien, studios were clawing for a sequel. And Spielberg almost gave it to them. A 10-page proposal was written for E.T. 2, which Spielberg called, Nocturnal Fears. It was going to be a darker movie than the original. A lot darker. If the sequel had surfaced, we would have seen evil aliens with razor-sharp teeth arrive from space looking for E.T. - who, this movie reveals, had the incredibly weird name of Zrek - The evil aliens then capture Elliott and his friends to interrogate and torture them.
As the story goes on, Elliott gets so brutally interrogated that he screams out to his friend, E.T. for help. But unlike in the Alien movies, where ‘in space, no one can hear you scream’ - E.T. can hear Elliot’s cries for help through space, and comes to the rescue.
E.T. makes his way into the alien spaceship and prepares for a final showdown. Here’s how that final battle would have came to a close: E.T. freezes the aliens, then they stay frozen and don’t try to stop him in any shape or form. Unfortunately, they never get unfrozen so don’t create the slightest hint of conflict. The movie would end, when E.T. takes the kids home, and the aliens - we assume still frozen? - just give up on the chase and leave. Thankfully, Spielberg realised rather quickly that taking his iconic alien into darker, somewhat, horror territory would be a terrible idea.
