Saturday, June 11 was the 40th anniversary of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, so fans everywhere were looking back on the acclaimed movie. The occasion also brought to mind the abandoned plan for a sequel which would have been far darker in tone than the original. According to a report by Dexterto, E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears would have been a horror movie more than anything else.
E.T. famously went through some huge changes in the writing and pre-production stages, turning from a thriller into a coming-of-age story that has inspired millions. At some point, Steven Spielberg and writer Melissa Mathison put together a treatment for E.T. II that would have steered the franchise back towards its roots in the sci-fi-horror milieu. The 10-page document describes a movie that may not have landed well with all of the fans out there in the early 1980s.
Videos by PopCulture.com
E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears still would have starred Henry Thomas as Elliott, Robert MacNaughton as Michael and Drew Barrymore asGertie, among other returning stars. It reportedly would have started during summer vacation with the three children wistfully missing their alien friend after he escaped in the first movie. Meanwhile, their mother Mary (Dee Wallace) would be in the middle of divorcing their father and starting a relationship with Keys (Peter Coyle), the government agent who tried to capture E.T. in the first movie.
E.T. would then have returned back to Earth and found his friends. He would have revealed that his real name is Zrek. Their reunion would have been short-lived, as his race would have come to Earth searching for him. The search team would be “a carnivorous faction of his race – commanded by the malevolent Korel.”
The movie would have taken some dark and violent turns. Rather than E.T. – Zrek – being detained by the U.S. government, this time Elliott, Michael and Gertie would have been captured by Korel and held prisoner on the spaceship. They would have been examined, interrogated and even tortured. Ultimately they would have been rescued by Zrek, who would have used some kind of mysterious power to banish Korel and the “carnivorous” aliens from Earth’s part of the galaxy for all time.
For some reason, the kids still would have had to say goodbye to Zrek again when this movie was over. The treatment reportedly plotted the final line of the movie. Zrek would have said: “There is hope in everyone’s eyes as they all, again, behold the picturesque departure of their favorite alien. Dreams can come true.”
When asked why this sequel never got made, Spielberg reportedly told the American Film Institute: “Sequels can be very dangerous because they compromise your truth as an artist. I think a sequel to E.T. would do nothing but rob the original of its virginity. People only remember the latest episode, while the pilot tarnishes.” Integrity aside, some fans speculate that this version of the movie wouldn’t have been made regardless because of its grim tone.
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial is streaming now on Peacock and FuboTV. You can also rent or purchase the movie on digital stores like Amazon Prime Video and iTunes, or find it on DVD or Blu-ray.
