Steven Spielberg fought hard to stop E.T. sequel he really ‘did not want’-Rebecca Sayce-Entertainment – Metro

Steven Spielberg has shared how he has stopped a sequel to E.T. being created (Picture: Getty/Shutterstock)

Steven Spielberg fought to stop a sequel to classic 80s sci-fi film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial being made.

Released in 1982, the beloved family film follows the story of the titular alien left behind on Earth as he is discovered by a young boy named Elliott (Henry Thomas) who decides to keep him hidden.

Legendary director Spielberg, 78, had already made classics including Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark before he moved on to the beloved alien movie.

But when the idea of a sequel was floated, he insisted he did not have enough clout to stop the studio’s plans until E.T. became a huge success – and he used his power to make sure a second movie would never hit the big screen.

Speaking at the TCM Classic Film Festival: New York Pop-Up  x  92NY event, Spielberg explained it was ‘a real hard-fought victory’ because he didn’t have any rights.

‘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 [intellectual property],’ he explained.

The beloved family sci-fi film was released in 1982 (Picture: Moviestore/Shutterstock)

The acclaimed director says he did ‘flirt’ with the idea of a sequel, but ultimately decided against it (Picture: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TCM)

‘I didn’t have that. I got it after E.T. because of its success.’

He added of a potential sequel: ‘I just did not want to make a sequel. I flirted with it for a little bit – just a little bit to see if I [could] think of a story – and the only thing I could think about was a book that was written by somebody that wrote the book for it called The Green Planet, which was all going to take place at E.T.’s home.

‘We were all going to be able to go to E.T.’s home and see how E.T. lived. But it was better as a novel than I think it would have been as a film.’

He continued: ‘I have no intention ever of seeing E.T. anywhere outside of this proscenium.’

Spielberg went on to insist he saw E.T. as his own because he came up with the concept, adding: ‘It was my story. It wasn’t George Lucas’s story, wasn’t Peter Benchley’s story, it was my story.

‘I had just done a number of very difficult productions, and I had not intended this to be a hard movie to make, but it was something that came to my heart. It was something that I thought up.’

Drew Barrymore, who played Gertie in the film, shared her opinion on a potential sequel (Picture: IMDB)

She credited the blockbuster for ‘changing her life’ (Picture: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TCM)

At the event, Spielberg shared the stage with Gertie actor Drew Barrymore – who was six at the time of the movie’s release in 1892 – and she recalled having a conversation with the director about a potential second movie.

She said: ‘I remember you saying, “We are not making a sequel to E.T.” I think I was eight. I remember being like, “OK, that’s a bummer, but I totally get it.”

‘I thought it was a smart choice. I very much understand it. Where do we go from here? They’re just going to compare it to the first and leave something that’s perfect alone in isolation open to scrutiny. It made so much sense.’

Drew went on to add she sees E.T. as the film that changed her life, saying: ‘I think E.T., for me, is the one I’m the most proud of because it’s the one that changed my life.

‘There’s no question about that. Everything in my life is about how I got believed in by one human being, and that is the life that I try to honour every day.’

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