History Main / ExecutiveVeto

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' translation supervisor Ted Woosley wanted to name Punchinello "[[Franchise/JamesBond James Bomb]]", but that name was rejected. A fragment of this idea remains in the final game, however, as Punchinello says "The names's Nello... Punchinello!"

* Creator/TerryPratchett was approached by an American studio wanting to make a movie out of his novel ''Literature/ReaperMan''. Things went well until a studio exec said "Americans are gonna have a problem with the character of {{Death}}. Lose him, willya?" Pratchett pointedly withdrew from negotiation after that.

** In early planning phases for the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' and subsequent books, Anakin Solo was planned as becoming a major character, taking up Luke's mantle as leader of the Jedi, and maybe even falling to TheDarkSide, while his older brother Jacen was going to be killed in the Yuuzhan Vong War. When Del Rey Books (or Creator/GeorgeLucas himself, [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Anakin_Solo#cite_ref-draft2_44-0 things are uncertain]]) thought that it was too similar to the journey of Anakin's namesake, [[spoiler:the boys' roles were swapped; they killed Anakin and had Jacen fall]].

** Jimmy Page refused permission to record a polka medley of Music/LedZeppelin songs, although he did allow for a sample of "Black Dog" to be used in "Trapped in at the Drive-Thru".

** Narrowly averted with the No Man's Land scene of ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'', which almost got removed.

* The crew of ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' averted this by pestering the higher-ups endlessly over marrying off Filbert and Hutch. In spite of the rules at the time stating that no [[Creator/{{Nicktoons}} Nicktoon]] could have any continuity, the execs caved and let the show go through with the wedding. They skipped the process and just gave the okay when the guys asked for permission to give Filbert and Hutch kids.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' is noted for having a relatively complex plot for a Mario game, but Miyamoto kept the team from going further in that direction for [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2 the sequel]], reflecting his belief that deep, dramatic plots are out of place int the series.

** ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'' were said to have a more dramatic kidnapping scene written than Miyamoto would allow.

* According to legend, when Creator/HideakiAnno was told that Creator/StudioGainax had rejected the offer for ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' to be in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'', he said, essentially, "There's no way you're keeping my [=EVAs=] from fighting beside the likes of [[Manga/GetterRobo Getter]] and [[Anime/MazingerZ Mazinger!]]"
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' is noted for having a relatively complex plot for a Mario game, but Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto kept the team from going further in that direction for [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2 the sequel]], reflecting his belief that Mario games shouldn't really have deep plots.
** Similarly, the developers of ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'' were said to have wanted a more dramatic kidnapping scene than Miyamoto would allow.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'' got a similar treatment. It was originally going to have a plot with strong continuity ties to the rest of the series (cut dialogue suggests it was originally planned to be about the Imprisoning War from the backstory of ''A Link to the Past''), but when Miyamoto saw it he complained that the plot should not be something that confused the player -- at least not with this particular game -- and "upended the teatable" on the project. What's left is a game with strong hints of both ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' but without clear continuity, even retelling Ganondorf's backstory. In the end, the [[AllThereInTheManual official timeline]] dictates that ''Four Swords Adventures'' and ''A Link to the Past'' are in [[AlternateTimeline different timeline branches]] split off from ''Ocarina of Time''. Even so it still raises [[ContinuitySnarl continuity issues]] as it clearly wasn't written with continuity in mind.

* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1'' was originally planned to use Donkey Kong Jr. as the Player 2 character. Nintendo's veto of this idea led to the creation of Diddy Kong.
* Franchise/{{LEGO}} forbade the creators of the ''[[VideoGame/{{Bionicle}} Mata Nui Online Game]]'' from focusing on the Toa, as they wanted to tell their story through a video game, but they received a lot of freedom about handling the islanders. This is seen as one reason why the ''BIONICLE'' line became so popular, since the game allowed for kids to [[FeaturelessProtagonist imagine themselves into the]] PlayerCharacter's shoes, discover the lore through talking to the EnsembleDarkhorse villagers, and by only seeing glimpses of the heroes, they seemed much more mysterious. After the video game got canceled, and it was too late to conclude the Toa's story in the comics, the ''MNOG'' was free to use the Toa for the epic ending.

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, the disappearance of the [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] is the franchise's longest running RiddleForTheAges. To date, only hints and theories have been presented as to why they vanished. When the development team of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'' wanted to explore the disappearance of the Dwemer, the idea was "[[https://www.pcgamesn.com/the-elder-scrolls-online/dwemer nixed]]" by Bethesda Executive Director Creator/ToddHoward, who stated "this [is] something we will never do, we will never come out and spoil the mystery and the secrets of the Dwemer".
* ''VideoGame/McDonaldsTreasureLandAdventure'' originally was to have a LethalLavaLand stage, but [=McDonald's=] objected to the hazard. The stage remained in the game, but with the lava recolored as blue water.

* Devin Grayson's story in ''ComicBook/DCPride2022'' was originally going to feature cameos from older versions of the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, mainly characters who were long believed to be queer in at least some capacity but never having it outright said on panel until now. Because Grayson's story was focusing on Jon Kent, they insisted on her using [[ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes2020 the Legionnaires who personally knew him]].

* Wrestling/EricBischoff wanted to an invasion angle with WCW after seeing shoot style Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation invade strong style Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling. He vetoed Ole Anderson's choice of Wrestling/{{SMW}} though, as well as WCW and Smoky Mountain's talent exchange. Both of these still happened a year later after Smoky Mountain closed and Ole Anderson was fired, just with the Wrestling/{{n|ewWorldorder}}Wo (invaders) and Heartland Wrestling Association (talent developmental) in its place.

* Wrestling/VinceMcMahon exercises full creative control over the Wrestling/{{WWE}} and often uses the executive veto. On the good side, he was effective enough at filtering Wrestling/VinceRusso's ideas that Russo was regarded as a creative genius before he left WWE. On the negative side, he's done such things as veto Paul Burchill's Jack Sparrow-inspired pirate gimmick because he hadn't seen the ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' series (despite the fact that it was a cultural phenomenon) and thought the character was all wrong, as he thought that Burchill's character should have been more like an Creator/ErrolFlynn-style swashbuckler, and nixed the character despite Burchill being over with the fans.

* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': In the first post-miniseries episode Apollo is ordered to shoot down the ''Olympic Carrier'' which is heading for the rest of the fleet and somehow carrying nuclear weapons, indicating it's been captured by the Cylons. Originally the writers wanted it to be clear that the 1,300 humans on board were still alive when Apollo fired on the ship. The [[Creator/SyFy Sci-Fi Network]] objected to this and insisted that they make it ambiguous as to whether anyone was still on board. The writers complied and adjusted the dialogue but every subsequent episode that refers back to the incident was written and filmed from the perspective that there ''were'' living passengers when the ship was destroyed.
* Because of its investment in him as the new Doctor, Creator/TheBBC vetoed nude scenes for Creator/MattSmith in the made-for-TV film ''Film/ChristopherAndHisKind''. This despite the fact that Smith had already appeared nude on film (and nude selfies had leaked to the Internet).

* Creator/ChuckDixon [[https://www.cbr.com/punisher-ultimate-story-never-told/ revealed]] that during his time writing ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'', his editor had a desk drawer full of rejected stories with the same premise: Frank Castle would accidentally kill an innocent person, feels guilt over it, and quits. While both the post-Dixon books and ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' had stories where the villain made it ''look'' like Frank did this to screw with him, the story itself as is would never be be told in the main Marvel continuity. However, it was told in [[spoiler:''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan''[='=]s "Death of Spider-Man" event and its tie-in ''New Ultimates vs. Avengers'' (where Castle fires at Franchise/CaptainAmerica and Franchise/SpiderMan ends up TakingTheBullet, which ended up being a factor in Peter's death) and the film ''Film/PunisherWarZone'' (where Frank shoots a "mafioso" coming out of a restroom only to realize afterward the man he'd killed was actually an undercover FBI agent and circumstances made sure his plans to retire didn't stick).]]

** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' and even moreso ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' were subjected to a number of rewrites (and an infamous ensuing TroubledProduction for the 2017 film) due to Creator/WarnerBros executives getting cold feet after the critical lambasting of ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''. Creator/ZackSnyder still managed to get away with this in some instances for his 2021 version such as Darkseid, the design he originally intended for Steppenwolf, Superman's black suit (execs wanted the blue one), a [[BadFuture Knightmare scene]] or Flash's Speedforce TimeTravel (which they wanted to keep for [[Film/TheFlash2023 the character's solo film]]), but he could not include some things he wanted that got vetoed, such as a Parademon nest scene with Batman investigating (which wasn't filmed) or the introduction of [[Franchise/GreenLantern John Stewart]] (which he filmed in his backyard in 2020).

* Another "who's the father" plotline involves Gwen Stacy's children from the ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' arc "Sins Past." Originally Gwen's two children were intended to be Pete's but the editors vetoed it, feeling it'd age the character. Norman Osborn was eventually the one who they'd decided to make the father of Gwen's children. This story quickly fell into FanonDiscontinuity. As of 2021, this was retconned as part of the "Sinister War", revealing they were actually [[spoiler: clones]] and [[spoiler: Mephisto masquerading as an AI of Harry Osborn's personality]] mocks Norman for believing it.

* Wrestling/CMPunk credits Wrestling/PaulHeyman for preventing WWE from changing his ring name and repackaging Punk with a different gimmick. The story Punk doesn't tell is that he was in line to have a male [[PomPomGirl cheerleader]] gimmick alongside [[Wrestling/MickieJames Alexis Laree]] ([[HistoryRepeats because WWE apparently didn't remember]] how that didn't work for Wrestling/ChrisCandido and Wrestling/TammyLynnSytch). That gimmick ended up going to the Spirit Squad, who didn't even have the benefit of a female cheerleader to accompany them... though Punk's was to be a baby {{face}}, the Squad were not.

* During pre-production of ''Westernanimation/RunawayBrain'', Jeffrey Katzenberg suggested to the director a scene with Mickey Mouse playing a video game. His idea of making a first-person shooter based on ''Westernanimation/{{Bambi}}'' was quickly shot down by the higher-ups (in the short, it's instead a ''Westernanimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' beat 'em up).

* Creator/ComedyCentral executives told Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone not to have ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' character Butters being [[AbusiveParents beaten by his parents]] after viewing the notorious ending to "[[Recap/SouthParkS6E1JaredHasAides Jared Has Aides]]".

** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' and even moreso ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' were subjected to a number of rewrites (and an infamous ensuing TroubledProduction for the 2017 film) due to Creator/WarnerBros executives getting cold feet after the critical lambasting of ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''. Creator/ZackSnyder still managed to get away with this in some instances for his 2021 version such as Darkseid, the design he originally intended for Steppenwolf, Superman's black suit (execs wanted the blue one), a [[BadFuture Knightmare scene]] or Flash's Speedforce TimeTravel (which they wanted to keep for the character's upcoming film), but he could not include some things he wanted that got vetoed, such as a Parademon nest scene with Batman investigating (which wasn't filmed) or the introduction of [[Franchise/GreenLantern John Stewart]] (which he filmed in his backyard in 2020).
** There was a veto on the use of ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} in ''Film/{{Birds of Prey|2020}}'' because the character was planned to be introduced in the Creator/AdilElArbiAndBilallFallah-directed film centering around the character, which ultimately got brutally shelved in post-production in 2022 amidst Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery's cost-cutting measures.
** Creator/HenryCavill's Superman wasn't brought back until ''Film/{{Black Adam|2022}}'' by executive decision. Ultimately, new Creator/DCStudios head Creator/JamesGunn decided to pull a ContinuityReboot and a new actor will be cast.

** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' and even moreso ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' were subjected to a number of rewrites (and an infamous ensuing TroubledProduction) by each different version's writers and directors due to Creator/WarnerBros executives getting cold feet after the critical lambasting of ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''. Creator/ZackSnyder still managed to get away with this in some instances for his 2021 version such as with Superman's black suit (execs wanted the blue one) or Flash's Speedforce TimeTravel (which they wanted to keep for the character's upcoming film), but he could not include some things he wanted that got vetoed, such as a Parademon nest scene with Batman investigating or the introduction of [[Franchise/GreenLantern John Stewart]].

** [[VideoGame/MegaMan Dr. Wily's]] dangerous enough even without his code being broken.

* Series/{{MASH}} had a planned episode in the first season where Hawkeye impregnated two nurses and tries to avoid marrying either one. FOX shot down this idea.

* ''Literature/TheShadow'': The ''Shadow'' pulps after the first few years were the subject of a long-standing blanket veto by long-time editor John Nanovic, who, in an effort to try to broaden the readership base of the magazine, demanded Walter B. Gibson stop use of the AsianSpeakeeEngrish trope, radically ([[FairForItsDay at least by 1930s standards)]]) tone down racial stereotyping and generally stop using "ethnic" villains altogether, though a few memorable baddies, such as Sihwan Khan and Rodil Mocquino would slip through because they were just too good to go to waste.

** Happens in-universe, in a more literal sense. A news reporter who has a scoop on the Stargate program is told that her boss was ordered by the president of the US to kill the story.

* ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021'': One idea was Jane taking up the mantle of Thor, but that was vetoed since a similar plot point was already planned for ''Thor: Love and Thunder''.

* The second ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' originally had a KillEmAll ending, and may not have had a Light Side path at all. One of the few bits of ''good'' executive meddling from Lucasarts was to tell Obsidian to dummy those out. It's also important to remember that the rest of Lucasarts's ExecutiveMeddling resulted in the game being rushed out and losing about 1/4 of its planned content. Unfortunately as a result, the game had no real ending at all.

** He also got a veto from the vegetarian Music/PaulMcCartney against recording "Chicken Pot Pie" (Live and Let Die) because it deals with eating meat.

** Jimmy Page refused permission to record a polka medley of Music/LedZeppelin songs, although allowed for a sample of "Black Dog" to be used in "Trapped in at the Drive-Thru".

* The ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[{{Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E19TheFirstDuty}} The First Duty]]" was actually written completely different: the crime that Wesley was accused of was much more heinous and if Wesley confessed, it would have been an act of moral cowardice, trying to save his career instead of sticking with his friends. It was asked to be rewritten so that the crime wasn't so overt and that Wesley's confession was the much more moral choice than the other way around.

* ''Film/TheMuppets'' film would have ended with Kermit announcing that ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' [[{{Uncancelled}} will be brought back]] "this fall on Creator/{{ABC}}!" Disney put an ax to that plan. Then waited four years and [[Series/TheMuppets let it actually happen]].