Steven Spielberg Reflects on the Intense Battle to Prevent an E.T. Sequel

There was almost a sequel to E.T., but thankfully, that never came to pass, thanks to the relentless efforts of its director, Steven Spielberg, who strongly opposed the idea.

We all know how rare it is for sequels to truly live up to their predecessors. Sure, there are times when a sequel not only matches but surpasses the original, but those instances are few and far between. Usually, it’s better to leave a great film as a standalone masterpiece than risk tarnishing its legacy. E.T. is one of those films that seems unimaginable to receive a sequel, but there was a time when studio executives were seriously considering it. Spielberg shared his thoughts during the TCM Classic Film Festival: New York Pop-Up x 92NY event, explaining how he fought against an E.T. sequel despite having limited rights at the time, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

“Before E.T., I had some rights, but not a lot,” Spielberg explained. “I didn’t have what we call ‘the freeze,’ which allows you to stop the studio from making a sequel because you control those aspects. But I gained that power after E.T.’s monumental success.”

He went on to discuss his aversion to creating a sequel. Although he toyed with the idea briefly, Spielberg admitted that he couldn’t come up with a compelling story that matched the original’s impact. He mentioned being intrigued by a book called ‘The Green Planet,’ which focused on E.T.’s home world. Spielberg thought it would make an interesting novel, but doubted its potential as a movie.

In hindsight, avoiding a sequel might have saved us all from a disastrous follow-up and preserved the integrity of a film that stood as the highest-grossing movie at one point. We can all be grateful to Spielberg for ensuring E.T. remained the iconic classic it is today.