Ben 10 Almost Turned Out Completely Different With a Wild “Trippy” Idea

Ben 10 is one of the most memorable action franchises ever released with Cartoon Network, but it almost was an entirely different series with an original “trippy” idea before its current form. Ever since Ben 10 made its debut with Cartoon Network in 2005, the animated series has since gone on to expand with all sorts of reboots and continuations in the years since. Fans have gotten to see the franchise explore all kinds of ideas through these different iterations over the years, but apparently it could have gotten off to a much wilder start if the creator’s original idea for the series ended up happening.

In a recent interview with Cartoon Base, Ben 10 series creator Duncan Rouleau (who is one of the members behind the “Man of Action” group credited for the series), revealed the original idea for Ben 10 was entirely different. Instead of having Ben Tennyson transform into different aliens, the Omnitrix was going to have Ben swap out with different versions of himself from different realities with vampires, amphibian creatures, and more being on the table of possibilities.

Ben 10 Almost Had an Entirely Different Idea

“The original idea was Ben using the Omnitrix to switch places with alternate versions of himself from other realities,” Rouleau explained. “Benjamin Blood a vampire Ben from a vampire Earth, Amphibiben a Ben from an Earth where polar icecaps melted -etc. they thought it was too trippy. They were right.” While this original idea was turned down due to it being too trippy, some of these earlier ideas did make it to the original series in the forms of the kinds of aliens that Ben would find himself being able to turn into as the years and franchises continued further into Ben’s older ages.

In fact when asked about all of the reboots and iterations for Ben 10 seen over the years, Rouleau doesn’t look back on anything with too much negativity stating, “Each iteration has its positives and things that could’ve been done better. We don’t really look back to much, rather where can we go next.” As for where the series could go next, Rouleau is not ruling out a potential revival with enough fan support, “It is a character that is due another show. Please keep up enthusiasm. We will do everything we can to make it happen.”

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What’s Next for Ben 10?

Ben 10 has had plenty of experience reviving itself or rebooting its universe to introduce new alien forms and powers over the years, so while this idea certainly seems like a “trippy” one, it’s not that wild in the grand scheme of where Ben 10 as a franchise has gone. Perhaps a new version of this idea could be used for a future project, and with Ben 10 already experimenting with a multiverse, it all could fit in even more. But if the series did come back, fans would likely want to see it return in its original form.

But there’s also even more of a potential for a more adult oriented version of Ben 10 that could grow up alongside fans of the original Cartoon Network series. Rouleau even mentioned that possibility being on the table too, “That is always on the table, and as the fan base grows older (and still watches animation) it becomes a real possibility.” So maybe in that case, trippy would certainly be the best path to take for a truly brand new version of Ben 10.

via Cartoon Base