Sequels

I’ve seen a lot of movies. No, not silent movies. Of all the movies I’ve seen, only a few stand out. Most movies are mediocre at best. The worst are usually sequels. I learned today about some sequels that never happened.

Just after the release of the smash hit, E.T. director Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Melissa Mathison reunited to write a sequel. It was going to turn the family classic into a total fear fest scifi horror with E.T. coming to the rescue.

Remember Beetlejuice? Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian was in production ten years before someone finally realized how bad an idea it was.

Gladiator was one of the great films of 2000 and won the Best Picture Oscar. Since the lead character gets killed in the film, a sequel seemed unlikely. There was a plan to have Maximus fight Roman gods in the afterlife. Some studio executive realized that some things and characters are better left dead.

And believe it or not, there was script for Forest Gump - Forest Gump 2: Gump & Company. Tom Hanks scrapped that idea.

Remember the next time you watch a movie, no matter how bad it is, there could be a sequel that is worse.

I am a little disappointed that there was never a sequel to Old Yeller.

PMO
©2011