Steven Spielberg's E.T. Sequel Involved Carnivorous Aliens!
I can't believe its been 30 years since E.T. was released in theaters. I actually remember going to the movie theater to see it with may family. I never knew that Universal and Steven Spielberg actually planned a sequel for the film, but apparently they did. A 9-page story treatment was written for it just days before the first movie was released in theaters.
Spielberg wrote the treatment with E.T. writer Melissa Mathison, and the sequel picked up where the first film left off, Elliot out of school for the summer and coping with the absence of his extra-terrestrial friend. From there things get pretty dark and brutal, and a group of carnivorous aliens show up to find E.T. The following comes from the story treatment, which you can read in full Right Here.
The aliens onboard are EVIL. They have landed on Earth in response to distress signals designating its present coordinates. These aliens are searching for a stranded extraterrestrial named Zrek (E.T.), who is sending a call for 'Help.' The evil creatures are carnivorous. Their leader, Korel, commands his crew to disperse into the forest to acquire food. As the squat aliens leave the gangplank, each one emits a hypnotic hum which has a paralyzing effect on the surrounding wildlife. These creatures are an albino fraction (mutation) of the same civilization E.T. belongs to. The two separate groups have been at war for decades!
At one point Elliot and his friends are kidnapped and subjected to violently painful interrogations by Korel. But don't worry, E.T. eventually comes back to Earth to save them.
That just sounds insane to me. I'm so glad this movie didn't happen! This sequel idea is terrible, and kills any kind of childlike wonder that the first movie had. It makes me wonder of Spielberg was high when he wrote the outline for the sequel. Spielberg addressed this sequel recently at the American Film Institute where he said...
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.
Maybe we should all be happy that a Goonies sequel never happened! Who knows how that would have turned out! Do you think Spielberg should have followed through and made E.T. 2, or are you happy the project never made it into production?