Steven Spielberg has developed plenty of sequels in his career with franchises like Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones, but one franchise fans will never see is E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial.
While speaking at the TCM Classic Film Festival: New York Pop-Up x 92NY event, Spielberg reflected on the “hard-fought” battle to ensure his 1982 sci-fi masterpiece remained untouched by sequels.
The fillmaker said: “That was a real hard-fought victory because I didn’t have any rights.” At the time, his contract didn’t include what he called “the freeze,” meaning he lacked control over sequels, remakes, or other uses of the property.
He added: “Before E.T., I had some rights, but I didn’t have a lot of rights.” Despite this, Spielberg had enough influence to dissuade Universal from pursuing follow-ups, leaning on the massive goodwill he’d built with yhe studio.
Spielberg also revealed that, for a time, he toyed with the idea of an E.T. sequel, saying: “I flirted with it,” and even working on a concept that eventually became the novel E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet.
However, he ultimately decided the story worked better as a book than a movie. Drew Barrymore, who starred as young Gertie in E.T., was at the TCM event alongside Spielberg and voiced her agreement with his decision.
She said: “They’re just going to compare it to the first, and leave something that’s perfect alone in isolation open to scrutiny.”
E.T. was released 1982, and it is my earliest memory of watching a movie in the movie theaters. It became a cultural phenomenon, earning $359.2 million domestically in its original theatrical run and surpassing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of its time.
It also secured nine Oscar nominations, winning four, including Best Original Score and Best Visual Effects. Beyond its box office success, E.T. was deeply personal for Spielberg, drawing inspiration from his childhood experiences of loneliness and his parents’ divorce.
Spielberg feared that a sequel might dilute the magic of the first movie. Barrymore said: “It’s understandable why he fought so hard. You don’t mess with something so beloved.”
Source: THR
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