Steven Spielberg Reflects on the Challenges of Preventing an E.T. Sequel: “A Truly Hard-Fought Victory”

There was nearly an E.T. sequel, but thankfully, Steven Spielberg, the film’s director, fought against it with all his might and emerged victorious.

We all know how rare it is for sequels to live up to expectations. Occasionally, a sequel might surprise us and even surpass the original, but let’s be honest—most of the time, it’s best to leave things as they are and avoid the risk of tarnishing the legacy. E.T. is one of those timeless films that seems unimaginable with a sequel. Yet, at one point, there was a push to make it happen. Spielberg shared this insight during his talk at the TCM Classic Film Festival: New York Pop-Up x 92NY event, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He managed to prevent the sequel from coming to life, despite initially lacking the rights to do so.

Back in the days before E.T., Spielberg had limited rights over his work. “I kind of didn’t have what we call ‘the freeze,’ which stops a studio from creating sequels, remakes, or other related content without my approval,” he explained. However, the monumental success of E.T. changed that, giving him greater control over his creations. Despite a momentary consideration of what a sequel could entail, he ultimately decided against it.

Spielberg mentioned that his brainstorming led him to a book titled “The Green Planet,” which would have taken audiences to E.T.’s home world to explore how the beloved alien lived. He felt it worked better as a novel than it ever could as a film, which convinced him that a sequel wasn’t the right move.

In retrospect, avoiding that sequel might have spared the world from a disappointing follow-up. Remaining a single, standalone masterpiece, E.T. went on to become the highest-grossing film of its time, so there’s no doubt it did more than well financially. It’s a good thing Spielberg trusted his instincts and kept E.T.’s story just where it belonged—complete and untouched.