Six Sequels That Almost Happened

I am a big fan of movies. I will even sit through a bad movie just because it is a movie (except Undercover Brotha - I only made it 20 minutes in before I walked out!) Lately we have been seeing a lot of very successful Super Hero movies and sequels to them. Even though it often seems like it, not every successful movie gets a sequel.  But any time a movie makes money, somebody at least proposes one. Here, from Cracked.com, is a list of insane sequels that almost happened.

#6.)  "Ei8ht" . . . a sequel to "Se7en".  This one would have starred MORGAN FREEMAN as basically the same character from the first movie, but with PSYCHIC POWERS that he DIDN'T have in the original. "Se7en" director DAVID FINCHER was even sent the script.  But he said it didn't make sense and refused to be involved.

#5.)  "E.T. 2:  Nocturnal Fears".  In this one, more aliens come to Earth and they look just like E.T., except they're albino.  And EVIL.  Turns out they HATE the brown-skinned aliens, and they've come to Earth looking for E.T., whose name is revealed to be Zrek.  The albinos capture the kids from the first movie and TORTURE them for information about "Zrek" . . . who eventually returns to Earth to rescue them. STEVEN SPIELBERG and "E.T." screenwriter MELISSA MATHISON . . . who used to be married to HARRISON FORD . . . actually wrote an outline for the film.  But Spielberg eventually realized it would just tarnish the memory of the original.

#4.)  "Forrest Gump 2:  Gump and Co." It would have been based on the book of the same name, just like the first one was.  And again, it would have featured TOM HANKS accidentally taking part in various historical events. In this one, Gump would dance with PRINCESS DIANA, help bring down the Berlin Wall and end up in the backseat of O.J. SIMPSON'S white Bronco.  The movie was going to end with Forrest at the Oklahoma City bombing.  But before the movie could get made, September 11th happened . . . and Hanks and director ROBERT ZEMECKIS decided the movie wasn't relevant anymore.

#3.)  "Beetlejuice 2:  Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian".  TIM BURTON didn't want to do a sequel, but the studio wanted it.  So he pitched them this idea, complete with Beetlejuice winning a surfing competition.  He figured they'd hate it.  They didn't. Burton ended up doing his "Batman" thing, and this one eventually lost steam.  (--But there's finally talk that a new "Beetlejuice" movie might happen.)

#2.)  "Casablanca 2: Brazzaville".  We find out in this one that HUMPHREY BOGART'S character Rick was actually a Nazi-fighting American spy all along. Meanwhile, Ilsa . . . the woman he let get away at the end of the first movie . . . is back, because the husband she fled with at the end of the film has died.  But there's a new love triangle involving a Spanish femme fatale Nazi sympathizer . . . whom Rick has to sleep with for the cause. Bogart was actually signed up for this one.  The original Ilsa, INGRID BERGMAN, was not.  Warner Brothers eventually decided to scrap the project.

#1.)  "Gladiator 2".  Yes, RUSSELL CROWE'S character died at the end of the first one.  But there are ways around that.  Written by rock star NICK CAVE, the script saw Crowe's Maximus being restored to life as an immortal by the Roman gods. During the course of the movie, he's present at every important war throughout history, like the Crusades and Vietnam.  At the end of the film, he's working at the Pentagon.  Crowe and RIDLEY SCOTT were seriously going to make this, but the studio thought it was ridiculous.  Ultimately, the two of them went on to do "Robin Hood" instead.

Would you have been excited about any of these movies?