5 Wild Sequel Pitches That Almost Ruined Great Sci-Fi Movies 

The sci-fi genre is packed with stories as unique as they are fantastical, with some of its movies proving to be truly iconic pieces of pop culture history. While there are many great sci-fi franchises with multiple movies, there are also many exceptional films in the genre that serve as standalone stories. However, both franchise movies and standalone titles have occasionally faced the same potential problem: bizarre sequel ideas. The history of cinema is filled with examples of unmade movie concepts, many of which would have served as sequels to beloved releases. In the sci-fi genre’s case, some of these unmade movies could have seriously hurt the legacy of their well-loved predecessors.

Over the years, there have been many classic sci-fi franchises and movies for which odd sequel ideas have surfaced. Some of these ideas are simply strange, while others are downright baffling. Some would have actually ruined the original movie had they been made, retroactively making its story seem worse by association. Thankfully, none of the following wild sequel pitches ever made it to fruition.

5) Ghostbusters III: Hellbent 

When Ghostbusters was released in 1984, it marked the beginning of a massive multimedia franchise. As well as two major movies, it inspired animated TV shows, comic books, video games, and more, with fans around the world fascinated by the Ghostbusters’ cool gadgets and the creative and comedic atmosphere of the franchise. After the release of the 1989 sequel, Ghostbusters II, plans for a third movie were announced, but quickly stalled.

The planned third Ghostbusters movie, subtitled Hellbent, was reportedly going to be set in a parallel version of Manhattan called Manhellton. The movie would have seen the Ghostbusters battling against a host of demons in a fantastical hellscape in what seems to have been a considerable departure from the first two movies’ premise. The sequel pitch sounds interesting in an abstract sort of way, but had it been made, it may well have done irreparable damage to the franchise’s reputation.

4) Superman Lives 

Superman Lives is one of the most infamous unmade movies in the history of modern cinema. The cancelled superhero movie is well-known for having cast Nicolas Cage as the Man of Tomorrow, and Tim Burton was attached to direct, working from a script originally penned by Kevin Smith. Its status as an outright sequel is relatively murky, although it would have followed Richard Donner’s Superman movies and was rumored to have been connected to Tim Burton’s Batman continuity, too.

The revealed details of Superman Lives‘ plot make it sound pretty wild. Bizarre stipulations made by producer Jon Peters reportedly included that the movie should feature various elements, including Superman battling a giant spider, that he shouldn’t be able to fly, and that various new characters should be added specifically for merchandising purposes. We’ll never know if Superman Lives would have been a success, but it certainly sounds like a wild way to continue Superman’s cinematic legacy of the 1970s and 1980s, and one that could potentially have ruined both Christopher Reeve’s turn as Superman and Tim Burton’s Batman movies retroactively.

3) The Fifth Element 2 

When it comes to nostalgic ’90s sci-fi movies, few films are as iconic as The Fifth Element. Luc Besson’s sci-fi movie follows resourceful taxi driver Korben Dallas as he encounters and aids a bizarre young woman named Leeloo after she literally falls into his life. With its all-star cast, vibrant colors, and imaginative design, The Fifth Element is often considered a great example of exceptional standalone sci-fi.

Originally, Besson reportedly wanted to follow the movie up with a sequel largely consisting of stories and material cut from the first movie. How exactly this would have worked is anyone’s guess, but the idea of piecing a movie together from discarded concepts rarely sounds particularly enticing. While Besson has since denied this was ever the plan, the reported sequel pitch would have seriously detracted from The Fifth Element‘s singular charm had it been made.

2) Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek Sequel 

Over the long history of the franchise, there have been many Star Trek movies of notoriously varying quality. One of the franchise’s best cinematic runs came in the form of its Kelvin Timeline movies, which put a modern spin on the iconic characters and stories of Star Trek: The Original Series. While the three-film arc itself has been widely praised, one planned sequel could have jeopardized its success.

At one point, Quentin Tarantino was attached to direct a Star Trek movie starring the cast of the Kelvin Timeline trilogy. While Tarantino is a hugely successful and widely celebrated filmmaker, his idea for the movie involved the Enterprise‘s crew, time-travel, and a gangster premise inspired by The Original Series episode “A Piece of the Action”, and it wouldn’t really have been in keeping with the tone of the other movies in the rebooted franchise. Tarantino’s idea might have honored Star Trek history with a nod to the past, but the unmade sequel likely wouldn’t have worked.

1) E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears 

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a sci-fi classic, with Steven Spielberg’s 1982 movie often cited as one of the most magical and uplifting movies of the 1980s. Its story is a timeless tale of innocence and friendship, and one that continues to resonate with audiences more than four decades after release. However, had the original planned sequel been made, we might collectively look back on E.T. in a very different light.

The planned sequel was reportedly titled E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears, and was a much darker movie involving Elliot and his friends being kidnapped by evil aliens. Spielberg himself dropped the idea, believing it would rob the original of its sense of innocence. As E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is perfect as a standalone movie, it’s good that its wild sequel premise never came to fruition.

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