Some of Steven Spielberg’s biggest box office hits spawned major Hollywood franchises, but the legendary director went out of his way to ensure there would never be a sequel to E.T. – the Extra-Terrestrial. While attending the TCM Classic Film Festival: New York Pop-Up x 92NY event (via The Hollywood Reporter), Spielberg recalled the “hard-fought” battles to stop the development of any E.T. follow-ups, touching on the rights issues that played a role. “That was a real hard-fought victory because I didn’t have any rights,” the director said. “Before E.T., I had some rights, but I didn’t have a lot of rights. I kind of didn’t have what we call ‘the freeze,’ where you can stop the studio from making a sequel because you control the freeze on sequels, remakes and other ancillary uses of the IP.”
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Elaborating, Spielberg admitted that for a time, he “flirted with” the possibility of an E.T. sequel and tried developing a suitable concept. This led to the publishing of the novel E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet, which Spielberg ultimately felt worked better as a book than a movie. E.T. star Drew Barrymore, who was at the TCM event alongside Spielberg, agreed with the decision to not make an E.T. 2. “They’re just going to compare it to the first and leave something that’s perfect alone in isolation open to scrutiny,” she said.
Released in 1982, E.T. further cemented Spielberg’s standing as one of the premier filmmakers of his era. In its original theatrical run, E.T. earned $359.2 million at the domestic box office, passing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time. It also earned widespread acclaim; E.T. was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. It won four Academy Awards: Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Original Score.
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The closest fans have gotten to an E.T. sequel is a 2019 Xfinity commercial featuring an adult Henry Thomas reprising his role of Elliott. The spot sees E.T. return to Earth decades later to spend the holiday season with Elliott and his family. Years after that ad premiered, Thomas told ComicBook.com he believes the commercial was “as close to a sequel as [Spielberg is] willing to go,” further confirming that an official cinematic follow-up is not in the works.
Given Spielberg’s very personal connection to E.T.‘s story (it’s partially inspired by his experiences as a child of divorce), it’s understandable why he went to such great lengths to keep it a standalone work. Any sequel would run the risk of undercutting what made the original so special and beloved. Despite not having the full rights to the property, Spielberg still had the necessary clout to convince Universal to play ball. With other hits like Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark under his belt, the director was able to persuade the studio, which likely wanted to keep its relationship with Spielberg intact. In the years after E.T., Spielberg made iconic films such as Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List for Universal — collaborations that might not have happened if Universal went against Spielberg’s wishes on E.T.
Legacy sequels are all the rage in Hollywood, as studios look to capitalize on popular IP by reintroducing classic franchises to new audiences. And while this has proven to be a lucrative strategy many times over, not every touchstone of 1980s pop culture needs a sequel. E.T. fits the bill of a movie that is perfect as a one-off, crafting an emotional tale of a lonely boy finding genuine companionship from an unlikely place. It’s borderline impossible to see how a sequel could deliver another worthwhile chapter in Elliott’s story, and it’s better Spielberg opted against it instead of making one that didn’t live up to expectations. The nostalgia trip of the Xfinity commercial was entertaining enough.
