What Could Have Been / Live-Action Films

You wouldn't believe that Johnny Blaze tried to fly.^note This was what Superman Lives was going to have if Nicolas Cage was attached. Seriously. At least he got to play him in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies... and The Flash.

A What Could Have Been page for live-action movies.

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Example subpages:

• Alien
• Back to the Future
• Beetlejuice
• DC Comics Film And TV
  • DC Extended Universe
  • Green Lantern
  • Joker
• Friday the 13th
• Godzilla
• Ghostbusters
• Harry Potter
• James Bond
• Jaws
• Jurassic Park
• The Lord of the Rings
  • The Hobbit
• Marvel Comics Film And TV
  • Blade Trilogy
  • Fantastic Four Duology
  • Fantastic Four
  • Hulk
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe
  • Sony's Spider-Man Universe
  • Spider-Man
• Mortal Kombat
• Saw
• Scooby Doo
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Space Jam
  • Space Jam: A New Legacy
• Star Trek
• Star Wars
• Terminator
• Tomb Raider
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit
• Unsorted Film

Individual examples:

Film franchises

The Chronicles of Riddick series

• Pitch Black:
  • First of all, this developed from Twohy's unused idea for Alien³. Had Vincent Ward not been brought and decided that the space prison idea was awful there would have not been a Riddick series.
  • The film was originally titled Nightfall and about a female outlaw named Tara Krieg with tribal tattoos and enhancements from her interstellar tribe of barbarians. Imam was named Noah Toth a member of a technology-based version of Christianity and he had no pilgrims, there was no eclipse, only a two-month day and two-month night, there was no geologist's outpost, only ancient ruins and instead of aliens the villains were the ghosts of the creatures who built the ruins trying to defend their homeworld. There was no escape ship, but a distress beacon, and Tara, Carolyn Fry, Jack, Noah Toth (Imam) and Paris were all supposed to make it off the alien world, called "Hades" instead of M6-117. Johns' morphine addiction, the cannon-fodder teens, the solar orrery and the geologist's camp were added by David Twohy.
  • David Twohy's original draft was different, too. Riddick died at the end instead of Carolyn Fry, There were extended scenes of the boneyard creatures, still alive, as well as them being killed and eaten by the other creatures. Paris and Johns would've survived until the third act, underground, which would've explained the planet's climate and temperature changes, the way the star-system worked, and the life-cycle of the creatures along with an entire underground ecosystem of Starfish Aliens.
• Sequels:
  • Numerous versions of these floated around for a while, too. The original script involved Riddick fighting the hammerheaded creatures in the underground of a city planet for entertainment. He is captured by a merc named "Big Foe" (Who turns out, in the third act, to be Jack from Pitch Black) and brought back to the planet only to find that the creatures were sentient and wanted revenge on Riddick as dictated by the evil god they worshiped. Akiva Goldsman's script was about Riddick and Kyra (Jack) hijacking a prison satellite and landing it on a living planet, which launched various creatures made from elements such as air, fire, wind and water at them to try and stop them before trying to kill them with a giant storm. David Hayter wrote a prequel about Riddick, growing up and being drafted into a war where he'd get blamed for his entire platoon's death (by Johns, whose callousness was actually to blame). This would result in the huge payday on his head and the many encounters with Johns, some good, some bad, and many lost loves and lost friends that rendered him the cold, heartless monster he was at the beginning of Pitch Black.
  • In addition, the sequel we got — The Chronicles of Riddick — could've been directed by Guillermo del Toro or David Cronenberg, with rumors of Alex Proyas, John Landis and Peter Jackson. WOW...

Carry On... series

• Carry On, Sergeant:
  • At the earliest points of production, the film was intended to be a drama.
  • Before Norman Hudis, writing duties were turned down by Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan, while John Antrobus wrote a script that went unused barring a few character names staying the same.
  • Val Guest was asked to direct the film before Gerald Thomas.
  • Peter Rogers favoured George Cole for the role of Charlie before Bob Monkhouse was cast.
  • Gordon Tanner replaced John Stuart as the first specialist when his contract was cancelled.
  • Patrick Newell was originally cast, but when he turned up on the first morning, he saw that the army sergeant who was going to drill the actors for the film was the same one that had drilled him when he was in the army and said that he wasn't going to go through that again and left.
  • Terence Skelton was cast as "Fourteenth Recruit" but dropped out before filming.
  • Starting a long-running series of censorship complaints in the series, the BBFC ordered several cuts to the script including all mentions of rape (seen as unmentionable for the "U" category), the phrase "the nuptials", the line "Man does not live by sausage rolls alone" (any jokes about Bible verses weren't allowed), and references to looking pregnant and "having been mucked about". They also insisted on removing the phrase "heap of chits" (for being used to allude to "heap of shit"), although it had already been filmed and Rogers managed to keep the offending scene in the film.
  • A scene where Horace Strong complains about his vertigo and Sergeant Grimshawe tells him "vere to go" was considered too corny and cut from the script.
  • Producer Rogers confirms on the DVD Commentary for That's Carry On! that if William Hartnell was unavailable then Cyril Chamberlain would've played Sergeant Grimshawe instead.
• Carry On Nurse:
  • John Antrobus wrote additional material, although none of it was used.
  • Bob Monkhouse was offered to play Ted York, but passed because he thought the fee being offered was far too low.
  • Despite being the most prominent female Carry On star, Joan Sims nearly missed her chance to appear in any of the films as she was only chosen to play Stella Dawson after Dora Bryan (who had previously appeared in Carry On Sergeant) was unavailable.
  • Peter Rogers cut a scene from the script where Nurses Dawson and Axwell return to the nurse's home late, resulting in Nurse Dawson hiding in the mortuary to hide from Home Sister and frightening a porter as he thought it wasn't believable, despite actually happening to writer Norman Hudis' wife:
    Nurse Dawson: Come quick! The porter - first-aid!
    Nurse Axwell: P-porter? What about me? Ooh, the shock!
    Nurse Dawson: Quick, he may be dead!
    Nurse Axwell: If he is, he won't have far to walk...
  • Rogers also axed a sad scene about a patient whose relationship is failing. It was eventually replaced with the drunken operation scene.
  • Ed Devereaux was told that he was to play Alec Lawrence with one permanent "boss-eye". After days of practicing to be able to do it, Rogers revealed he was only playing a joke on him and that it wasn't needed.
  • The BBFC tried to have the line "Get the doctor to give you something to make you sleep" removed.
  • Originally, the film ended with the projected romance between Ted York and Nurse Denton. However, the daffodil scene was thought to make a stronger ending.
• Carry On Teacher:
  • Shirley Eaton found out that she was pregnant during the filming of Carry On Nurse and thus wouldn't have been able to return for this film.
  • Norman Hudis' preliminary notes show that the characters of Alistair Grigg the school psychologist and Felicity Wheeler the school inspector were originally intended to be young teachers from the United States who were concluding their study tour of British educational establishments. In addition, their names were originally Ellis Hackenschmidt and Cornelia Wheeler, and were to be played by Michael Medwin and Hattie Jacques rather than Leslie Phillips and Rosalind Knight.
  • Hudis' notes also show other original ideas for casting:
    • Wilfrid Hyde-White as William Wakefield rather than Ted Ray.
    • Dora Bryan as Sarah Allcock rather than Joan Sims.
    • Harry Locke as Alf Hodgson rather than Cyril Chamberlain.
    • Terence Longdon as one of the teachers, later changed to Bill Owen.
  • Peter Rogers wasn't sure if Ray would be available to play William Wakefield, and so had Eric Barker lined up as his second choice.
• Carry On Constable:
  • While additional writing material was supplied by John Antrobus and Brock Williams, neither of the two had their work included in the film. Antrobus' script later provided the premise for the later Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas film, The Big Job, which also starred Sid James and Joan Sims.
  • The role of Sergeant Wilkins was intended for Ted Ray following his work on Carry On Teacher however, he was unable to commit owing to contractual problems. Chic Murray was also considered before James landed the role.
  • Noël Dyson was initially cast as Mrs. May before Joan Hickson took the role.
  • Marianne Stone was originally cast as the woman trying to find money for a public convenience but became unavailable and was replaced by Hilda Fenemore. Stone later redubbed Lucy Griffiths' performance.
  • Herbert Nelson was cast as a crook but was replaced before filming.
• Carry On Regardless:
  • Hattie Jacques was to play a leading role, while Joan Sims would've had a smaller role and Liz Fraser wouldn't even have been in the film if it wasn't for Jacques' illness forcing her to drop out.
  • The role of Montgomery Infield-Hopping was originally intended for Leslie Phillips. However, Phillips, complaining of typecasting, withdrew, and the part was drastically cut, before being recast with Terence Longdon.
  • Jerry Desmonde took over the role of Mr. Paul from Jeremy Hawk who dropped out of the film.
  • A BBFC cut meant the alteration of one of Sam's lines to Mrs. Panting from "You're making it a little bit hard for me, madam" to "You're making it a little bit difficult for me, madam".
• Carry On Cruising:
  • Before Cruising was conceived, two films were planned but dropped: What a Carry On! (which never got past a title) and Carry On Smoking (set for filming but abandoned in case its release coincided with a Real Life fire tragedy).
  • The original idea for the film involved a touring holiday on a coach.
  • Eric Barker wrote the original treatment, then known as Carry On At Sea.
  • Plans to film on a luxurious Mediterranean cruise and in Gibraltar were considered but vetoed by Peter Rogers due to his phobia of overseas travel and budgetary reasons. At one point filming was also planned for Southampton, but this was dropped by the time production started in earnest.
  • This was the first film in the series not to feature Hattie Jacques, as she was ill at the time. As a result, she had no part written for her.
  • Dilys Laye replaced Joan Sims in the role of Flo Castle at very short notice just before production when Sims took unexpectedly ill after a long run of the play The Lord Chamberlain Regrets!.
  • The role of the ship's cook Wilfred Haines was originally intended for Charles Hawtrey, but was re-written for Lance Percival, after Hawtrey quit in a dispute with the producer over billing and the lack of a gold star on his dressing room door.
  • Kenneth Williams nearly joined Hawtrey on the walk-out and only agreed to stay if given a pay rise.
• Carry On Cabby:
  • The initial treatment was written by R.M. Hills and S.C. Green.
  • Before Call Me a Cab was given the Carry On prefix, Carry On Flying and Carry On Spaceman both had scripts ready for shooting but were both abandoned.
  • Kenneth Williams was offered the role of Allbright, but he thought it an inferior script and turned it down, making this the first Carry On in which he did not appear. The role of Allbright was given to Norman Chappell, while most of his funny lines were given to Charles Hawtrey as Pintpot. He wrote in his diaries:
    Read script of the Peter Rogers film Call Me a Cab and hated it. Wrote and said I didn't want to do it.
  • Fenella Fielding turned down the role of Anthea because the part she was offered was obsessed with her bust. The role later went to Amanda Barrie.
• Carry On Jack:
  • Kenneth Cope was considered for the role of Midshipman Albert Poop-Decker which in the end was cast with Bernard Cribbins.
  • Liz Fraser was originally cast as Sally but accidentally talked herself out of the role during an ill-advised conversation with distributor boss Stuart Levy.
  • Kenneth Connor was unable to appear in the film, as he was appearing in the West End.
  • Peter Rogers originally wanted to use Stock Footage from either Horatio Hornblower or The Crimson Pirate.
  • When Albert leaves the Sealord's room, Cribbins wanted to look back and smile at him, but Gerald Thomas told him not to as he wanted to keep the pacing tight.
• Carry On Spying:
  • In the first treatment by Norman Hudis, the plot involved secret agents getting involved with the atomic bomb. Peter Rogers, however, wasn't happy with the script. He'd been hoping for a James Bond parody, but what he got had one scene with the spies disguised as CND activists joining a peace rally.
  • Hudis then revised his treatment, with Kenneth Connor as secret agent Bold, Hattie Jacques as Dauntless (who is briefly Brainwashed and Crazy), Joan Sims as Valliant, Charles Hawtrey as a spy with a cover as a jazz pianist, and Sid James as the head of the spies, all five of them working in Operation Smith, intending to capture Smith, who alongside his accomplice, Stamp, had stolen a top-secret file from the Department of Obsolete Missiles.
  • Talbot Rothwell was brought in to write a new script with the title Come Spy With Me; The basic script was the same, but Kenneth Williams was now Philip Bull, the leader, with the spy ring now consisting of James as Lucky Dexter, Sims as Janie May, Connor as Art Accleston, Hawtrey as Fingers Allen, and Esma Cannon as the administrator Amelia Barley. However, James, Connor, and Sims were all unavailable for the film, while Cannon had retired from acting by this point.
  • Barbara Windsor was brought in as a replacement for Liz Fraser after she had been dropped from the films prior to Carry On Jack.
  • The film was intended to be shot in colour but Rogers was offered some excess monochrome film stock at a significantly reduced rate, which he gladly accepted to keep the budget down. As a result, some scenes were then rewritten to pay homage to the film noir genre of the past.
• Carry On Cleo:
  • Bernard Cribbins was originally offered the role of Hengist Pod, but he chose to do a play instead.
  • Fenella Fielding turned down the film so she could go to New York.
  • The famous "infamy" line was the replacement for another line that Talbot Rothwell wasn't happy with.
• Carry On Cowboy:
  • During the filming of Carry On Cleo, Jim Dale suggested to Peter Rogers that he make the next film Carry On Camelot, with Sid James as King Arthur, but Rogers wasn't interested.
  • Rogers wanted to have Charles Hawtrey sing a quick snatch of Rose Marie's "When I'm Calling You Ooh", but the American publishing house wouldn't allow it.
  • Belle telling Rumpo that he's got "a big one" had to be refilmed as the BBFC wouldn't allow it without the gun visible in frame.
  • The BBFC also tried to cut two more of Belle's lines - "I hope that's your gun, Marshal" and "That'll teach you to ask me for a quick one", as well as the "Peace on, peace off" gag.
• Carry On Screaming!:
  • Valeria's name was Verbena when she was first written to be Dr. Watt's daughter. Virula was another alternative name.
  • In early drafts, Dan Dann was Doris' father.
  • To appeal to the US market, Dr. Watt was written with Vincent Price in mind, however, Price was dropped after requesting £25,000. Frankie Howerd was next hoped for the role but couldn't make the filming dates. All this led to script rewrites and Kenneth Williams being cast, while his original role (Sockett) was given to Bernard Bresslaw, whose own role (Odbodd) was given to Tom Clegg.
  • Sid James was originally planned to play Sergeant Bung, but the role was given to Harry H. Corbett (and at one point was hoped to be played by Tony Hancock) due to James' prior commitments on Babes in the Wood. The character being called Sidney was intended as a nod to him.
  • Kenneth Connor was considered for Albert Potter, who was originally called Ken Connors before the role was given to Jim Dale, who had taken up his role of Carry On bumbling romantic lead.
  • Sydney Bromley had been cast as Dan Dann, but Charles Hawtrey replaced him at the last minute after word had gotten out that he wouldn't be in the film.
  • According to several sources, producer Peter Rogers had attempted to secure Deborah Kerr for the role of Valeria and had offered her a fee comparable to that paid to the rest of the cast combined, but she turned it down in favour of appearing in an aborted stage version of Flowers for Algernon.
  • A scene of Slobotham getting spooked by an owl was scripted but replaced with the joke of him being unable to surround the entire area by himself.
  • When the trio meets Dr. Watt for the first time, the original version of the scene had him lead the three on that he knew Doris, only to then say he didn't.
  • Dr. Fettle's scene was supposed to go on longer but ended up being shortened by rewrites. The original script also didn't include the "wrong homo" gag.
  • At one point, Valeria's dress had a diamond shape cut out of the midriff, with the space filled by a black fishnet, but it was deemed to be too revealing and altered back to normal.
  • A Novelization was planned but aborted by Rogers who didn't think it would sell well.
• Don't Lose Your Head:
  • Two Taglines that went unused were "That 'Carry On' team has the French Revolution in Convulsions" and "Carry On Tumbrils - they're the new rescue squad of the French Revolution".
  • Eric Rogers' original theme for the film - a jazzy version of "Here We Come Gathering Nuts in May" - was replaced by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter's theme song.
  • The original script of the duel scene made it much more obvious that Sir Rodney intended to have Citizen Camembert fall into the cesspit and had a lot more waffling about from him. It was later rewritten to have the audience unaware of the punch line.
    Citizen Camembert: The Garden of Fragrance it is, sir. Er... where is that?
    Sir Rodney: You can't miss it. Just by the cesspit.
• Follow That Camel:
  • Carry On Camping originally took this film's place as 14th in the series, although Camel took its place after Camping had to be drastically rewritten.
  • Talbot Rothwell's original script had to be severely cut down as in the book The Lost Carry Ons, Peter Rogers described the original as "epic in proportions" and "akin to a David Lean production".
  • Woody Allen was considered for the role of Sergeant Nocker after Sid James pulled out due to commitments on George and the Dragon but before Phil Silvers was cast.
  • Before being cast as Captain le Pice, Charles Hawtrey had hoped to play Bo.
  • The original ending had Silvers as the baby of Lady Jane turning to the camera and saying, "Ah well, as the old Arab saying has it 'You can put may camels through the eye of a needle, but you still know not what will come out'". While the scene was shot, it was replaced at the eleventh hour with a baby Kenneth Williams.
• Carry On Doctor:
  • Carry On Camping originally held this film's place as the 15th Carry On.
  • An early draft had some slight differences:
    • Dr. Tinkle was originally called Dr. Tinker.
    • Surgeon Hardcastle was originally called Surgeon MacKenzie.
    • Nurse Parkin was supposed to be an attractive West Indian nurse.
  • Originally instead of Dr. Tinkle and Matron's first interaction being of her meeting him after his surgery, it was scripted that Matron would tell Dr. Kilmore about his assignment to the outpatients clinic, followed by her telling Dr. Tinkle (after a bout of Judo with Henry) about Mr. Bigger's condition:
    Dr. Tinkle: But there, we mustn't be too hard on Kilmore, Matron. We can't all be brilliant. Some of us have it and some of us don't.
  • For a brief period of time, Kenneth Williams had been set to play Frankie Howerd's role (Mr. Bigger) after complaining about his own role (Dr. Tinkle) until he changed his mind.
  • Joan Sims was the first choice to play Matron, but refused to play a role that she knew suited her good friend Hattie Jacques much more and instead settled with the smaller role of Miss Gibson.
• Carry On Up the Khyber:
  • Just like Follow That Camel, Talbot Rothwell's original script had to be severely cut down.
  • Jim Dale was supposed to play Captain Keene but was unavailable due to a stage commitment, so Roy Castle took his place.
  • The role of the Fakir was originally much bigger and was meant for Frankie Howerd, but he also had a stage commitment. It was then offered to Tommy Cooper (hence the magic tricks), but he was also unavailable.
  • Instead of Lady Ruff-Diamond calling the Khasi of Kalabar a "turban job", the originally scripted line was "brown job". The line was changed out of fear of causing offense.
  • Bundgit's line "Fakir, off!" had a blatantly offensive alternative ("He's just a fucking cunt") filmed so the original line could make it past the BBFC.
• Carry On Camping:
  • Peter Rogers wanted the films to be more international, so Talbot Rothwell had initially written Camping as a film about a caravan holiday (which would later be done in Carry On Behind). The script however was rejected and Follow That Camel took its place instead. Camping was then intended to be the 15th film in the series, only for Carry On Doctor to steal its spot.
  • Rather than have Barbara Windsor lose her bra in her iconic role as Babs, early drafts of the script gave the infamous scene to a character called Rosemary.
  • Jim Dale was wanted for the role of Jim Tanner, but wasn't available, so it was given to Julian Holloway. The role was radically cut after Dale left and most of what was shot with Holloway was left on the cutting room floor due to Trisha Noble's unpopularity with the team.
  • Fenella Fielding was asked to return for the film, but she didn't like the script.
  • A roadside café scene en route to the camping site in which Dr. Soaper comes face to face with the café proprietor, Dan (who wasn't cast) was cut.
  • Stanfast Abbey was originally called Mucklast Abbey in the script.
  • Windsor intended to play Babs with a more refined voice.
  • The BBFC tried to remove Dr. Soaper telling Miss Haggerd that she won't find him stuffing her turkey but left it in after it was pointed out that his line would be awkward to cut.
• Carry On Again Doctor:
  • Frankie Howerd was sought for a part but wasn't available.
  • Peter Butterworth was unable to take a larger role due to his stage commitments, so the small role of the shuffling patient was written especially for him.
  • The role of Miss Armitage was originally intended for Pat Coombs and the role of the new Matron was originally for Ambrosine Phillpotts, but when she became unavailable, Coombs was cast as the new Matron and Ann Lancaster was brought in to play Miss Armitage.
  • Patricia Franklin was supposed to play a night nurse, but couldn't due to her pregnancy and other work commitments. The role later went to Jenny Counsell.
  • A scene of Dr. Carver dictating a letter to be for Harold Wilson was cut from the script due to fears that it would date the film. A wise choice, seeing as Wilson would lose the next election to Edward Heath:
    Dr. Carver: "Chairman, Labour Party Executive Committee, Dear Harold... I shall be honoured to carry out the proposed transplant operation on your member... and put in the member's name... and suggest he comes into Hampton Wick as soon as possible. Yours etc.... Frederick Carver, OBE, KCB, FRCS, NIT". (Beat) A head transplant would be more appropriate.
  • The wedding scene planned for the end of the film was never shot.
• Carry On Up the Jungle:
  • Jim Dale was offered the part of Ug, but found the script too "static", and turned the role down.
  • The role of Professor Tinkle was originally written for Kenneth Williams. He turned it down, as it clashed with filming for his TV show The Kenneth Williams Show. Williams was then offered the cameo role of Walter Bagley, which he turned down as being too small, which was in the end cast with Charles Hawtrey.
  • Angela Douglas was intended to play June but decided to take a break from the Carry On films after her pregnancy.
  • In the original script June was called "Jane" and Professor Tinkle's first name was "Indigo" rather than Inigo.
• Carry On Loving:
  • Peter Rogers came close to giving Charles Hawtrey's usual place of third billing to Hattie Jacques due to Jacques' importance to the narrative and Hawtrey's limited screen time.
  • Peter Butterworth was unable to take a larger role due to his stage commitments, so the small role of "Dr. Crippen" was written especially for him.
  • Aunt Beatrice Grubb was intended to be played by Grace Newcombe, but the part ultimately went to Dorothea Phillips.
  • A scene where Mr. Snooper smashes through some glass to open a door was dropped before filming. Kenneth Williams had concerns that he would hurt himself, but director Gerald Thomas assured him that it was only sugar glass and he would be fine. To prove it, Thomas did it himself... and ended up cutting his hand!
• Carry On Henry:
  • Harry Secombe was considered the role of King Henry because the production team didn't think that Sid James would be available for the filming.
  • Early versions of the script had the composing and performing of popular madrigals as a major part of the plot.
  • Jacki Piper was hoped to return after appearing in the previous two films but was unavailable as she had just gotten married and was also busy in the West End.
  • Peter Butterworth was unable to take a larger role due to his stage commitments, so the small role of Charles, the Earl of Bristol, was written especially for him.
• Carry On at Your Convenience:
  • When Carry On Loving was still in cinemas, Carry On Comrade was announced as the 21st Carry On before Carry On Henry usurped its spot.
  • The role of Agatha Spanner was nearly recast due to Renée Houston suffering from an illness.
  • The BBFC tried to cut the entire sequence where Lewis tells Mr. Boggs he married Myrtle, but Peter Rogers managed to convince them to keep it in.
  • The Deleted Role of the beach photographer was intended to have been played by Ronnie Brody, but he was released from his contract, and replaced by Alec Bregonzi.
  • The final scene of the film was originally Vic meeting the new canteen girl, and everything after that was tacked on at the last minute. Additionally, Vic's final line "Carry on working" was absent from the final draft of the script.
• Carry On Matron:
  • Norman Hudis was initially approached to write the script, 7 years after his last one (Carry On Cruising), but his comeback was out due to difficulties over his membership of the Writers Guild of America so the script writing job went to Talbot Rothwell.
  • Peter Butterworth was supposed to play Freddy but was unable because of other work engagements, leading to Bill Maynard's casting.
  • Frankie Howerd had hoped during the filming of Carry On Up the Jungle that he'd be available to come back for whatever film they'd make in October 1971, but wasn't available as he was busy filming Up Pompeii.
  • Margaret Nolan wasn't originally cast as Mrs. Tucker but got herself the role after writing a letter to Gerald Thomas telling him she'd be happy to work with him on a Carry On film again.
  • Dick Francis was sought for a role, but for whatever reason was unavailable.
  • The original ending was the wedding ceremony between Sir Bernard and Matron, rather than seeing them outside the church.
  • Another ending would have had Dr. Goode looking at the camera and saying, "I do love happy endings, don't you?".
  • Another ending had Sir Bernard faint before the ceremony after seeing an advert for an early Viagra product and Sid being arrested, with the idea of the next film being his escape.
  • Also cut was Sid's last line, upon seeing that his gang run off for the idea of a nudist camp, he remarks that it's a job he'll get more out of before his infamous laugh.
• Carry On Abroad:
  • The initial story treatment had many changes:
    • Cora's name was originally Clara.
    • Elsbels was supposed to be on the Costa Bomm.
    • Stuart Farquhar's name was shortened from the original Kenneth Stuart-Farquhar.
    • Eustace Tuttle wasn't in the script and Charles Hawtrey originally played Charles Makepeace, an old-fashioned solicitor.
    • There was a character named Lady Joan Baugham who was travelling with her 17-year-old son. She was described as "down on her uppers" while spending the entire holiday scrounging off the others.
    • Nicholas' name was originally Cyril, and he and Rob were to constantly be holding each other's hands.
    • The captain of the flight to Spain was an old man who made all the passengers sit at the back to counterbalance the weight.
    • On the return flight the plane was to crash into the sea, leaving the holidaymakers to jump onto a raft and be rescued by a ferry.
  • A later draft had less differences:
    • Vic and Cora's pub was named The Bull and Bush.
    • Lily and Marge were both seventeen and Marge was plump rather than thin.
    • The draft included a pair of newlyweds called Mr. and Mrs. Sockett, who were virtually inseparable throughout the early pages of the script before arriving at the Palace Hotel and taking part in a sped-up scene where they rush to have it off.
  • A sequence of the excited holidaymakers on the plane was cut from the script just before filming began to avoid having to build a new set. Lindsay Marsh was hired to play a hostess, but she was only paid instead of being used. Notable parts from this cut segment include:
    • Cora trying to get over her fear of flying.
    • Vic being sick in the toilets.
    • Mr. Farquhar missing Miss Plunkett's obvious flirting.
    • Brother Bernard retrieving Marge's handbag for her.
    • Evelyn insisting on a separate room from Stanley at the hotel.
    • Stanley pinching the hostess' bottom.
    • Mr. Tuttle showing Bert one of his clients in a girlie mag.
    • Rob telling Nicholas of the one time he had been out with a girl.
    • Sadie lying to Bert that she had accidentally killed her husband with rat poison.
  • Madeline Smith proved popular with the crew after appearing in Carry On Matron, so Peter Rogers asked her to come back in this film as Lily, but she had to decline due to work commitments. The part later went to Sally Geeson at the suggestion of Sid James, who had worked with her on Bless This House.
  • Carol Hawkins wasn't originally intended to play Marge, but she sent a letter and photo explaining she'd be willing to work on a Carry On and got herself the part.
  • Valerie Leon was intended for the part of Moira Plunkett, but it eventually went to Gail Grainger.
  • Julian Holloway recalled in 2018 that he had been asked to return for either this film or Carry On Girls (he couldn't remember which one) but turned it down.
  • An earlier version of the "Lovely day for it" scene lacked the innuendo, and instead had Miss Dobbs take a more serious tone to set up the cut subplot of Mr. Farquhar facing the sack if he led another subpar package holiday.
  • The censors disproved of Rob's "ankle bracelet" line and tried to have it cut, but ultimately it remained in the film.
• Carry On Girls:
  • In early drafts of the script, the action was set in the equally fictional seaside town of Bungcope (pronounced "bunk up"), Mayor Bumble was named Mayor Firkin, and it closed with a car chase and wedding between Sid Fiddler and Hope Springs.
  • Paula Perkins' surname was originally Prentiss, and she was originally supposed to be a teacher of archaeology.
  • The role of Cecil Gaybody was written for Charles Hawtrey, who had been dropped from the series following a dispute over top billing in Carry On Stuffing. It was then offered to Kenneth Williams, who turned it down because of stage commitments to My Fat Friend, even after the role was cut down to allow him energy for the play. Williams was also considered for the role of Mayor Bumble.
  • The role of the Police Inspector was offered to Bill Maynard but he withdrew to do a better-paying TV job and the role went to David Lodge.
  • Renée Houston was cast as Mrs. Dukes, but ill health caused her contract to be cancelled, so Joan Hickson took over her role.
  • The photographer was meant to be a wordless Living Prop, but after Robin Askwith was cast at the insistence of Sid James (they had starred together in the film version of Bless This House), it was built up into the character of Larry Prodworthy.
  • When Hope asks Peter if he would prefer "a short or a long one" (talking about wigs) Peter was supposed to respond with "I should ask you that", but it was cut from the script.
• Carry On Dick:
  • George Evans and Laurie Wyman were commissioned to write a Carry On and came up with Carry On Sailor. The idea was scrapped and the two wrote a script about Dick Turpin robbing the Bank of England. Talbot Rothwell kept the flavour of the script for his version, but for all intents and purposes, re-wrote his own Don't Lose Your Head.
  • Dick Turpin was known as Dick Twurpin in the original script.
  • Kenneth Williams demanded the scene where he would be set in stocks and had food thrown at him be cut from the script, but he didn't get his wish.
  • When Sergeant Strapp keeps banging his head trying to get up the belfry, originally, he was supposed to make it into the belfry, however, both the location shooting and the set built were too small for the six-foot Jack Douglas, so Douglas made up the Slapstick routine to get past this.
• Carry On Behind:
  • Talbot Rothwell had been planning a World War I Carry On while Carry On Dick was in pre-production but had to retire due to exhaustion.
  • Roland Crump's surname was originally Plumcott.
  • Sid James and Barbara Windsor were set to play Fred Ramsden and Norma Baxter but were out of the British Isles at the time of filming. Their roles were taken over by Windsor Davies (at the suggestion of Jack Douglas) and Adrienne Posta.
  • Hattie Jacques was hoped to return, but unfortunately Carry On Dick was her final Carry On due to her health.
  • Chris Gannon was booked to play the role of the barman. However, he was offered a better-paid job that clashed with the shooting schedule, so his agent arranged for Kenneth Waller to take over the part.
  • The BBFC fought to have the shots of Veronica the stripper's bare breasts cut from the opening scene and a scene with Linda being viewed through a caravan window due to her "dangling breasts", but they were left in as a gift from John Trevelyan, who was finally standing down from the BBFC after overseeing the edits in the Carry On series for most of its history.
• Carry On England:
  • Dave Freeman was planning another Carry On before England was picked up from the writers of Carry on Laughing!.
  • Gerald Thomas also expressed an interest in making a Carry On starring Kenneth Connor as King Arthur before receiving the England script.
  • Eric Rogers refused to score the film when he found out that his orchestra would be halved, so Max Harris was brought in as his replacement.
  • Sid James was unavailable to be in the film because of his stage commitments performing in a revival tour of The Mating Season.
  • The part of Private Alice Easy was written for Barbara Windsor before going to Diane Langton due to Windsor appearing in The Mike Reid Show at the same time.
  • Penelope Keith was going to play Private Jennifer Ffoukes-Sharpe before the role was given to Joan Sims.
  • The Brigadier part was written for Kenneth Williams but he was unavailable due to stage commitments for Signed and Sealed, leading to the casting of Peter Jones.
  • After appearing in Carry On Behind, Ian Lavender was hoped to return to the series in the role of Sergeant Able, but for whatever reason he didn't, and the role went to newcomer Patrick Mower.
  • Tricia Newby replaced Carol Hawkins in the role of Bombardier Murray, as Hawkins refused to appear in the film due to the excessive nudity.
  • Peter Rogers' desired cast also included Bernard Bresslaw, James Bolam, Adam Faith, Richard O'Sullivan, Adrienne Posta, Michele Dotrice, Susan Penhaligon, and Anne Aston.
  • The topless parade scene was supposed to have Sergeant Willing lead the women in defiance, but Judy Geeson refused to do the topless scenes (despite stripping in Three into Two Won't Go), so her lines were given to Tricia Newby's Bombardier Murray.
• That's Carry On!:
  • Peter Rogers had hoped to make a second Carry On Clip Show after this one, but it never came to fruition.
  • The film's first rough cut ran six hours due to the sheer amount of scenes from the previous films that editor Jack Gardner and director Gerald Thomas wanted to include.
• Carry On Emmannuelle:
  • Lance Peters' original script was considered too vulgar for a Carry On, so Vince Powell and Willie Rushton were brought in to tone it down.
  • Barbara Windsor was originally offered four roles in the film (to be billed as "with odd appearances by Barbara Windsor") as the blonde in the pub with Leyland, the French girl met by Richmond during the World War II sequence, the girl at London Zoo with Lyons and the nurse who delivers Emmannuelle's babies in the final scene. However, filming coincided with a planned holiday by Windsor, and she dropped out of the project completely, leaving the roles to be taken by four different actresses (Claire Davenport, Deborah Brayshaw, Louise Burton, and Marianne Maskell).
  • On the Carry On England DVD Commentary, Patrick Mower recalls that he had been asked back to play a small role in this film but was unavailable. He was unable to remember which role he had been offered.
  • The opening sequence on the Concorde originally had Emmannuelle jacking off a steward rather than seducing Theodore.
  • The Flashbacks of Leyland, Richmond, and Lyon's amorous adventures were Dream Sequences at first.
  • The third draft had a cut sequence where Emmannuelle goes to a photo shoot in a sausage factory wearing a sausage bikini.
  • The sequence where the servants talk of their sexual experiences was also much bluer in the third draft - Mrs. Dangle's launderette story was about her having an orgasm sitting on a washing machine and rather than Emmannuelle's skydiving story she was to tell them of the time she forgot to wear panties when playing tennis at Wimbledon.
  • Before Suzanne Danielle, Kelly LeBrock was also considered for the role of Emmannuelle.
  • Theodore and Emmannuelle's tryst in the airplane bathroom had much more dialogue that was dropped.
  • Beryl Reid was originally a One-Scene Wonder, but during the filming of her scene, more were written on the fly and filmed on the same day as it was thought that limiting her to one scene would be a waste.
  • When Theodore kidnaps Emmannulle in a ski mask, Larry Dann wanted to wear his glasses over his mask because he thought it was funnier, but the idea was vetoed.
  • Maskell's agent later regretted not putting her up for the role of Emmannuelle.
  • The dandy's close-ups were supposed to have been done on a green screen, but the effect didn't work so it was instead filmed on location.
• Carry On Columbus:
  • The first choices to play the King and Queen of Spain were Frankie Howerd and Joan Sims. Howerd was signed up for it but he died months before filming, while Sims turned down the role of the Queen as she was busy with a new series of On the Up (although Sims confirmed in her autobiography that she had little enthusiasm to return). The second choices were Bernard Bresslaw and Barbara Windsor, who thought the script was so bad that they did Wot a Carry On in Blackpool (end-of-pier theatre) instead.
  • Kenneth Connor was offered the supporting part of the Duke of Costa Brava but he turned it down, saying "I want to be remembered as a Carry On principal, not a bit player".
  • Robbie Coltrane was the first choice to play Columbus, but turned it down.
  • Terry Scott was approached to play Mordecai Mendoza but had to refuse as he was too ill. This would have reunited him with June Whitfield, his costar in Happily Ever After and its More Popular Spin-Off Terry and June.
  • Jonathan Ross was due to film a one-day cameo as a barber shop customer who had his ear cut off by Alexei Sayle but work commitments prevented him, so the part went to David Boyce.
  • Suzanne Danielle was offered a part in this film (possibly as one of the Native Americans) but had to turn it down because she was pregnant.
  • Robin Askwith was considered for Bart Columbus. Harry Enfield was the next choice but turned it down after learning how little of the original cast would be returning.
  • Adrian Edmondson was announced to be cast in the film, but never got a role.
  • Ben Elton was rumoured to be keen to get a role.
  • Norman Mitchell once bumped into Gerald Thomas in the street and was promised a role, but never heard of it again.
  • Peter Rogers wrote a letter to Jacki Piper saying he wanted her in the film, but there weren't any suitable parts for her to play.
  • Dave Freeman had hoped to get John Inman (of Are You Being Served? fame) to play Don Juan Diego, but he wasn't available and Julian Clary was cast instead.

Confessions of a... series

• Mike Grady and Michael Cashman were originally considered for Timmy, while Richard Beckinsale, Richard O'Sullivan, Nicky Henson, and Dennis Waterman all were offered the role but turned it down.
• An early cast list for Confessions of a Window Cleaner included Geoffrey Bayldon and Imogen Hassall.
• While executive producer Norman Cohen directed the final three films, he was also originally supposed to direct Window Cleaner but stepped aside in favor of Val Guest. Guest was supposed to return for Confessions of a Pop Performer but didn't due to concerns from his wife about him being on set with various naked women.
• Prior to Pop Performer, a sequel called Confessions from the Clink was considered but never got further than production notes.
• Helen Mirren was considered for the role of Mary Truscott in Confessions of a Driving Instructor.

Die Hard series

Every installment of the Die Hard franchise, except Die Hard 2 and A Good Day to Die Hard, began life as a completely different project and/or a standalone film that was reworked to fit the series.

• Die Hard:
  • The original film started life as Nothing Lasts Forever, based on a novel of the same name. Said novel was a sequel to the book The Detective, which had already been adapted to film, with the lead role being played by none other than Frank Sinatra. They wanted to make the sequel right after that, but by then Sinatra had grown tired of acting, and the project was scrapped. 20th Century Fox kept the film rights, though, and it was rediscovered by producer Joel Silver, who was looking for projects they could easily adapt because they already owned the rights. Bizarrely, the studio was still contractually obliged to offer the lead role to Sinatra — even though Sinatra was 73 years old when the film started pre-production, which would have led to a particularly mind-boggling result. To no one's surprise, Sinatra turned them down a second time.
  • The next idea was to make Nothing Lasts Forever into a sequel to Commando, with Arnold Schwarzenegger to reprise his role as John Matrix. But director John McTiernan got a hold of the script and found it a "nasty piece of work" — he reworked it several times to remove overly violent elements, including the main character casually shooting female hostages. McTiernan's constant tweaking stretched Schwarzenegger's patience, and he eventually dropped out, leaving the character free to be reworked into the "everyman" cop who's having a bad day.
• Die Hard with a Vengeance:
  • The story was adapted from a script called Simon Says, which was briefly intended to be the third film in the Lethal Weapon series. According to various accounts, the script included a character who would have been played by the late Brandon Lee, and the character of Zeus was intended to be a woman.
  • There were two early scripts that were rejected: one had McClane trying to stop terrorists who have seized control of a cruise ship (which was abandoned after Under Siege went into production), and another saw terrorists try to take control of the Los Angeles subway system.
  • Laurence Fishburne was originally intended to play Zeus, but backed out. He had second thoughts and tried to get the part again, but Samuel L. Jackson was cast by that time.
  • The original ending of the film was a sequence where McClane tracks down Simon Gruber in Eastern Europe, and reveals to him that he was thrown off the NYPD because the police thought he was involved with the heist. McClane then challenges Simon to a game of Russian Roulette using a rocket launcher, which results in Simon eventually killing himself by pulling the trigger. The scene was supposed to show that McClane had gone over the edge and lost everything. It was never used in the film, but it appears on most DVD copies as a deleted scene.
• Live Free or Die Hard has the dubious honor of having the longest development time of the series. It took close to a decade to get the project off the ground:
  • The first proposed script was called Tears of the Sun, which the director and Bruce Willis apparently hated. Willis repurposed the name "Tears of the Sun" for another project he would eventually star in.
  • They played with borrowing the scenario — particularly the location — from the video game Die Hard Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas, but instead of a prison riot, just having a group of mobsters attempt a heist in one of the casinos, with McClane just happening to be there at the time and in the best position to stop them, thus evoking the general theme of the first movie. They also thought about adapting the script from the Die Hard: Vendetta video game, and the concept of McClane's daughter Lucy and her kidnapping latter in the finished film came from there.
  • In 2001, there were plans to make the project a sequel to Enemy of the State (written by the same screenwriter, and based on a non-fiction article in Wired magazine called "A Farewell to Arms") called WW3.com, before it was repurposed as a Die Hard film. The September 11th attacks stalled all development on that front, as Fox believed they couldn't go forward with a script about America being under attack.
  • An early script treatment revolved around McClane's son Jack, who would have been the computer hacker John had to bring to the FBI. This was later reworked to include a new hacker character, with McClane's child being changed to his daughter Lucy. The idea about his son Jack was later implemented in the sequel A Good Day to Die Hard.
  • Jessica Simpson auditioned for the role of Lucy, and Justin Timberlake expressed interest in the (scrapped) role of Jack. Think about that for a second.

Dirty Harry series

• Dirty Harry
  • Frank Sinatra was offered the role of Harry, but had broken his wrist during filming of The Manchurian Candidate and was unable to hold the character's signature gun.
  • John Wayne lobbied for the role of Harry, but the studio felt he was too old for the role.
  • Burt Lancaster was reportedly offered the role of Harry but turned it down because he found the script offensive and promoted a less than liberal approach to law enforcement.
  • Audie Murphy was offered the role of the Scorpio Killer, but felt it would scar younger fans of his films and was considering turning it down when his plane crashed.

Doctor series

• Doctor in the House (1954):
  • Robert Morley was the first choice for Sir Lancelot, but he demanded £15,000 and was dropped. When James Robertson Justice was hired in his place, he was paid 1/10 of Morley's desired salary.
  • Neither the famous "bleeding time" scene nor any of the scenes of Tony's proposals were in the original screenplay. The Tony proposal scenes all had to be filmed much later on.
• Doctor at Sea:
  • Joan Collins was originally intended to star in the film as Helene Colbert but was ill-matched against Dirk Bogarde. The part eventually went to Brigitte Bardot.
  • Kay Kendall was offered a part but turned the film down as she wasn't happy with it.
• Doctor in Clover:
  • Talbot Rothwell had originally been commissioned by Betty Box to write the film. While Rothwell's script was turned down, he reused some plot elements (notably a medical mission and a slimming potion) three years later when he wrote Carry On Again Doctor.
  • Fenella Fielding and Shirley Anne Field both wished they could've played the other's role.
• Doctor in Trouble:
  • If James Robertson Justice hadn't had his stroke, he would've played Robert Morley's role of Captain Spratt in addition to playing Sir Lancelot.
  • This wasn't supposed to be the final Doctor film but ended up being it due to British films becoming unprofitable in America.

The Fly series

• The Fly (1986)
  • The original Charles Edward Pogue-penned script had much more in common with the 1958 film (and the short story that preceded it). The main characters were a scientist, his beautiful painter wife (who uses him as a model for Romance Novel covers), his colleague who's long pined for her and helps keep the secret of the scientist's Slow Transformation, and a scheming boss who, upon learning of the protagonist's Teleporter Accident, steals the teleporters with the intent of cheating him out of the money they will surely make. The extended climax had the protagonist — by then effectively a giant fly complete with vestigal wings — storm the company headquarters to get his revenge upon the boss, ultimately destroying both himself and the booths as well with his wife's help. While many elements of this script would be incorporated into David Cronenberg's total rewrite (among them: strange hairs sprouting from a wound as an early sign of the transformation, vomit drop, the heroine's pregnancy and her Nightmare Sequence inspired by it, etc.), there were enough changes made that Cronenberg could have legally claimed sole writer credit on the finished film had he not wanted to acknowledge Pogue.
  • In the downtime between the loss of original director Robert Bierman (due to his daughter's death) and the last-minute hiring of Cronenberg (who had just disentangled himself from Total Recall (1990)), Tim Burton was slated to direct at one point. Michael Keaton would have been the protagonist.
  • Executive producer Mel Brooks's first choice for the role of Seth Brundle was Pierce Brosnan, and John Lithgow auditioned for the part, while Mel Gibson (in favor of Lethal Weapon), Richard Dreyfuss, and John Malkovich turned it down. A key reason the role ended up filled by Jeff Goldblum was that — unlike many, if not most, of the other actors — he was excited about playing a role that would require him to act through layers of hideous makeup.
  • Cronenberg wanted Linda Hamilton to play Veronica, but she was too disturbed by the script, and Laura Dern and Jennifer Jason Leigh were more "known" than the producers wanted. While Cronenberg was ready to cast Geena Davis after her first reading, he dutifully auditioned other actresses at producer Stuart Cornfeld's request; a Cronenberg interview with Serge Grunberg suggests that one of them was Shelley Long.
  • The biggest sequences that didn't reach the filming stage came during the ultimately deleted "monkey-cat" stretch (more on that in a moment): a Roofhopping interlude for Seth as a happy escape from his despair as he approaches the final humanoid stage of his transformation, followed by a darker scene in which he is discovered by a homeless woman and, his insect nature kicking in, kills her with vomit drop.
  • Between the reveal of Veronica's pregnancy and her Nightmare Sequence came a sequence in which Seth, desperately seeking a cure for his condition, uses the telepods to fuse together the surviving test baboon and a cat into one entity — which promptly attacks him, whereupon he beats it to death. He then climbs to the roof of his loft and cries out in despair, only for a searing pain from the growth on his abdomen (the one he points out in the Wall Crawl scene) cause him to tumble off, barely managing to slow his fall by clinging to the side of the building. As he collapses on an awning, an insect leg emerges from the growth, which he bites off before passing out. This was lost after the first Toronto test screening as the upset, nauseated audience no longer had sympathy for Seth, and couldn't focus on the rest of the movie. It passed into the realm of horror legend quickly (it helped that it provided Missing Trailer Scene material — easy to identify because Seth's form is unique to the scene) and ultimately was included as a deleted scene on the 2005 DVD release, as were...
  • The FOUR different considered epilogues that would have answered the lingering question of what would become of Veronica's unborn child. All four involve a Dream Sequence involving a "butterfly baby" emerging from a chrysalis, but each is significantly different regarding her fate. 1: She and Stathis are together again and she is pregnant with HIS child (the scripted ending). 2: Same as 1 but she is not pregnant at all. 3: She's single, but not pregnant. 4: She's single but visibly pregnant with Seth's child (the one Geena Davis seems to have liked best). But the cast and crew really didn't want 1 or 2, there was some Special Effects Failure (the baby was obvious stop-motion in a film that otherwise didn't use that technique at all), and test audiences were too devastated by Seth/Brundlefly's death for a hopeful epilogue to work, so the film simply ends with that scene instead.
• The Fly II
  • The very first concept broached didn't involve Spin-Offspring at all, but would have had Veronica as the protagonist and Bartok Industries the antagonist, with the Potential Applications of the telepods at stake — stakes raised by Seth Brundle's consciousness turning out to be trapped in its computer, turning it into a horror version of Transcendence. The ending would have had his consciousness being incarnated in a clone body.
  • Mick Garris's initial draft had Veronica convinced to give birth to the Spin-Offspring by a religious cult that would then "adopt" the child as its own, against her wishes. As an adolescent, the son escapes and becomes part of a makeshift family of unusually "gifted" kids as his insect affinity begins to kick in (sort of an X-Men situation).

The Godfather series

• The Godfather:
  • Laurence Olivier and Ernest Borgnine had both been suggested for Don Vito. Burt Lancaster was also said to have been a candidate for Don Vito.
  • Robert De Niro tested (quite well) for Sonny, but Coppola felt his portrayal was too cold-blooded to be appealing.
  • DeNiro was almost given the role of Paulie (which ended up being played by Johnny Martino). This would have put DeNiro in the first film but would have made it impossible to cast him as young Vito in the second film.
  • The studio wanted Robert Redford or Ryan O'Neal as Michael. Martin Sheen also tested.
  • Robert Evans, the producer, initially demanded that Coppola deliver a 135 minute cut. Coppola, who'd edited the film to more-or-less the extant version, begrudgingly complied, only to be chewed out by Evans for "ruining the film."
• The Godfather Part II:
  • Richard Castellano insisted on having his girlfriend write his dialogue for II, and so was written out. His participation would have meant it was Clemenza who sold Michael out to the government instead of the new character Frankie Pentangeli. Pentangeli was an awesome character and Michael Gazzo's Oscar nomination was well-deserved, but the revised storyline had less emotional heft.
  • Some of Coppola's friends (including George Lucas) told him that switching back and forth between Michael and Young Vito was too jarring, and to just stick with Michael's storyline.
• The Godfather Part III:
  • What if the studio and Robert Duvall had reached a salary agreement for III, thus enabling Coppola's vision of Michael and Tom as adversaries?
  • Winona Ryder was set to play Mary, but begged off due to exhaustion.
  • Coppola and Mario Puzo wanted six months to write the film, the studio instead gave them only six weeks.
• If Mario Puzo had lived long enough, he and Coppola would've made their proposed Part IV, which would have concluded the entire saga. (After Puzo's 1999 death, Coppola lost any interest in continuing the franchise). The film as hypothesized by Coppola and Puzo with have followed two parallel plots like Part II, one following Vito during the family's peak years during Prohibition and the other following Vincent involving the family in the drug trade and eventually getting killed off in a manner similar to Pablo Escobar. Andy Garcia is still interested in doing this film, which would have centered around his character.

Mad Max series

• The Road Warrior, Humungus was originally supposed to be Max's partner Jim Goose. They decided against this, but left a few hints, such as horrible burns behind Humungus' goalie mask, his raider's use of police vehicles (which look more like Melbourne Police cars), and his own use of a very similar weapon to the MFP's standard sidearm. Granted, they could never explain how someone of average height and a slender build as Goose could have morphed into a muscle bound giant.
• Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome was originally just someone After the End who finds a group of children living in the wreck of a plane, until someone suggested that that man be Mad Max.
• One idea considered for a new Mad Max film was to have the original Mad Max die halfway through the story and be replaced by his younger son.
• Mad Max: Fury Road:
  • According to George Miller, Mel Gibson was intended to reprise his role as Max, but the constant production delays and Gibson's interest in making The Passion of the Christ meant that it never came to pass. Miller's second pick was Heath Ledger, but the latter's untimely death led Miller to cast Tom Hardy instead. Michael Biehn was also reportedly considered for the lead at one point.
  • The film was originally planned to be an interquel between the original film and its sequel, with Immortan Joe allegedly being Toecutter from the original film (although Hugh Keays-Byrne plays both roles, there is no connection between them in the final product). Rictus was also supposed to survive the pileup at the end of the film and become Lord Humungous in Road Warrior.
  • There were also several actors who initially joined the production, only to leave when filming became delayed for years, including two of the actresses who played the Wives. Abbey Lee (The Dag) replaced Teresa Palmer before filming started, while Courtney Eaton (Fragile) replaced Adelaide Clemens due to scheduling difficulties.

Mission: Impossible film series

• There was going to be a straight Movie Multipack with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (then-titled Dead Reckoning Part One") and its sequel (then-titled Dead Reckoning Part Two). The COVID-19 Pandemic forced a delay on the filming of the sequel, which was then rewritten and retitled, dropping Dead Reckoning altogether. The first film then had a Post-Release Retitle to simply Dead Reckoning''.

On the Buses series

• Early drafts of the script for Holiday on the Buses didn't include the subplot about Blakey's broken toe.
• A fourth film, Fun on the Buses, was planned but was never made.

Planet of the Apes series

• You can see most of the scripts commented below here: http://pota.goatley.com/scripts.html
• Planet of the Apes (1968):
  • The concept art of the first film kept true to the source novel and depicted an ape society with advanced technology. That first hunting scene? The gorillas would be riding helicopters, not horses (something that hunters regularly did in the 1960s, before the ecologist movement). The huge expenses that a faithful adaptation entailed resulted in the switch to a primitive society where technological advancement is halted by the orangutans.
  • Edward G. Robinson was originally cast as Zaius in the first film, but his ill health didn't mix well with the makeup, and he had to remove himself from the film, after which Maurice Evans replaced him.
  • Linda Harrison did makeup tests for the part of Zira, but ultimately played the mute savage Nova instead.
  • The part where the orangutan judges adopt the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" position originated as a joke between takes and was not in the script.
• Beneath the Planet of the Apes:
  • There were several plans for the sequel; the first written by Pierre Boulle (who loved the first film except for the ending, amusingly), titled Planet of the Men, which had the apes lose their intelligence and go wild again. Another treatment had basically the same plot as the finished film, but with a different ending to the finished product, in which only the Forbidden Zone is destroyed by the cobalt bomb, and apes and humans are set to live in harmony, the final scene having an aged Taylor telling a group of human and ape children the story of how peace was attained. However, there is a Sequel Hook, in which a group of mutated gorillas (possibly including General Ursus) emerge from the ruins to shoot a dove in blatant symbolism, hinting that they will disturb the human/ape peace in future sequels.
  • Fox wanted Charlton Heston to return as Taylor, but Heston didn't want to carry another Apes film. They eventually reached an agreement where Taylor would only appear in the end, and retooled the rest of the film around a Suspiciously Similar Substitute astronaut played by James Franciscus (who was cast purely because he looked like Heston) that had come to look for Taylor and gone through the same time travel experience.
  • Heston demanded to be killed off, so they wrote in the scene where he activates the cobalt bomb. Still suspicious that the studio might bring him again, Heston then "suggested" that when the cobalt bomb exploded the whole planet was destroyed, rather than just the Forbidden Zone as first intended. It worked halfways: Heston was never bothered again, but Fox commissioned a new sequel anyway.
• Escape from the Planet of the Apes:
  • One of the earlier scripts has the three ape-o-nauts viewing the dying Earth from their space capsule before going back in time.
  • The end would have Zira and Cornelius killed by a pack of military doberman pinschers. This was deemed too gruesome and they were shot instead.
• Conquest of the Planet of the Apes:
  • The script opened with a fugitive ape being shot by the police. As they walked to it, the body would be revealed to be covered in open wounds and scars, showing the horrible living conditions of the slave apes. This was cut, again, for being too gruesome.
  • An original script draft showed more of the rapid evolution of the apes from primitive to intelligent and showed the progression of apes from pets to slaves. Caesar leaving the circus, then trying to survive in the desert and being captured by a company that sold apes. Breck was a man whose wife was killed by an ape, and who mistreats Caesar, inciting his revolution. It's also interesting to note that Caesar passes himself off for parts of the film as a deformed human.
  • The movie originally ended with Caesar's yell of "That day is upon you NOW!" and the apes beating Governor Breck to death despite Mr. MacDonald's plea. Poor testing resulted in the addition of Lisa's Big "NO!", which was followed by repeated footage of Caesar's speech dubbed over by Roddy McDowall to make him reconsider his decision and give the film a more hopeful tone.
• Battle for the Planet of the Apes:
  • The earlier version depicting a human leader named Nimrod, an ancestor of 'Beneath's Mendez. A bomb destroys much of the city from Conquest, and the humans and apes flee to another area. It still involved ape-mutant battles but had Caesar more dictatorial and militant than in the final film, partially due to the death of his wife while she was giving birth. Anger against the humans almost resulted in them all being rendered mute, but this is narrowly averted by a hidden microphone in the coffin of Caesar's wife Lisa that allows someone to whisper to him in 'her' voice. The film ends with precursors to the original, setting up the Forbidden Zone and making anti-human proclamations revealing him to be the first film's Lawgiver.
  • Breck was later planned to return as the villain, but the actor wasn't interested. So he was changed to Breck's security chief, Kolp.
  • Mr. MacDonald was also meant to return, but after the actor refused, the character was changed to his brother.
  • A deleted scene showed Kolp telling his aides, Alma and Mendez, to remain in the ruins of New York and activate the cobalt bomb from Beneath if his forces were defeated. Alma then tried to follow Kolp's orders, but was stopped by Mendez who instead turned the bomb into a worship figure. Mendez is, of course, the first in the line to Beneath's Mendez XXVI.
  • The group of kids in the end would include a hybrid ape-human kid, symbolizing the two species coexistence in peace. A make-up test was made before cutting it out.
• Various remake and Continuity Reboot projects:
  • The first attempt to reboot the series, titled Return to the Planet of the Apes, was pitched by Adam Rifkin in 1988. It was an alternate sequel to the first film, set hundred of years after, with the apes having a Roman-esque civilization and using humans as slave labor. A descendant of Taylor (Charlie Sheen and Tom Cruise were considered for the part) would lead the humans to revolt, basically making the film Spartacus with Apes. Rick Baker was attached to the make up department and Danny Elfman was going to score, but the project was cancelled with the arrival of new Fox executives.
  • Peter Jackson reworked Rifkin's idea in 1992 into a Renaissance-esque setting starring an old Da Vinci-like chimpanzee inventor played by Roddy McDowall, who had to hide a human-ape hybrid from the Orangutan Inquisition while the human rebellion was going on. But yet another rotation of Fox exes shut this project down as well.
  • Oliver Stone was approached in 1993 following a rumor that he was interested in directing a Planet of the Apes remake. He wasn't. In fact, after being told of the rumor by Fox exes he went to watch the films, which he had not yet, and told the studio that they were "awful". He was, however, interested on being executive producer to a new film that would discard all the previous POTA mythos, centered instead on "the discovery of cryogenically frozen Vedic Apes who hold the secret numeric codes to the Bible that foretold the end of civilizations."
  • Taking off Stone's idea, Terry Hayes wrote the ultra-violent and deliciously bizarre Return of the Apes script in 1994. Plagued with references to Led Zeppelin, Altered States, Lost in Space and The Lord of the Rings, but none to Planet of the Apes, Return opens with a sudden world plague of newborn progeria that is threatening to destroy humanity in the near future. Disgraced scientist Robert Plant determines that it is the result of a "genetic tykebomb" in human DNA and travels to Africa 102,000 years in the past to locate the "mythocodrial Eve" and keep her away from whatever infected her. "Eve" is a child named "Aiv" (pronounced "Eve") and the whatever is a Medieval-esque civilization of gorilla-like hominids at war with humans. In the end, Plant and his pregnant colleague succeed and she gives birth to a healthy boy named Adam. The religious angle proposed by Stone was otherwise limited to a scene where Plant makes a prayer and an ape identifies it as his own. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed to play Plant, Stan Winston was doing the effects, Phillip Noyce was directing and Fox allocated $100 million to start filming immediately. But in the last moment, Fox executive Dylan Sellers decided that the script could be "improved" with comedy, and demanded in particular that Plant saw a group of apes trying to play baseball and he taught them to do it properly. Hayes refused, Sellers fired him, Noyce quit and the project went back into Development Hell.
  • Chris Columbus and Sam Hamm wrote a more comedic and kid-friendly script in 1995. The progeria plague still opened the film, but was caused by germs brought by a chimp astronaut from space. A team of scientists then used the chimp's spaceship to go to his home planet, Soror, in search for a cure, and what followed was very much like the original novel by Pierre Boulle, with technologically advanced "apes" (whose society also included intelligent gibbons and monkeys, that they called "exotics") ruled by the despotic Lord Zaius and two baseball scenes. The scientists would discover that Soror was once inhabited by intelligent humans that colonized Earth before they nuked themselves back to the stone age and that ape technology and culture was entirely stolen from these ancient humans or TV emissions from Earth - including topless ape dancers. They would eventually be captured, with one of them being killed, and the other two being filmed having sex to a gorilla cover of "Stayin' Alive". They also discover the cure in a talking girl named Josie, but on their return after 74 years in hyper-sleep they find that Earth has been also overrun by apes. The film ends with a shot of the Statue of Liberty whose face has been carved into a smiling ape's.
  • James Cameron took the helm as producer after Columbus dropped out in 1996 and went back to the idea of making an alternate sequel to the first film, but refused to write or direct as he was too busy doing Titanic (1997). The treatment called for the use of stock-footage showing the opening of the original POTA, except this time there would be a chimpanzee research facility next to the crash site. Zira and Cornelius' time travel in Escape had changed history and resulted in an ape society dominated by chimpanzee scientists rather than orangutan priest-judges. The script then cuts to a second spaceship crashing that carried the protagonist (whom Arnold was still attached to play), and follows him as he arrives in an Ape City ruled by a Caligula-esque chimpanzee-gibbon hybrid descendant of Caesar, and befriends an old orangutan that directs him to the still living Taylor, now father and leader of a tribe of intelligent humans that use guns. Landon leads another human tribe, and Dodge is the one lobotomized "with a twist". Michael Bay was suggested to direct before Peter Hyams signed in 1998. Fox rejected Hyams, however, and both Cameron and Schwarzenegger dropped out.
• The Tim Burton Planet of the Apes (2001) "re-imagining":
  • Until late into production, the title was The Visitor.
  • Burton wanted to give a "Cornelius-like role" to his friend Paul Reubens, but neither actor nor character was included in the end.
  • Johnny Depp did make-up tests for an unspecified role.
  • Tiffany Smith was cast as Ari and also did make-up tests before being replaced by Helena Bonham Carter. She has an uncredited appearance as Thade's sister in the final film.
  • Ari was first planned as an "ape princess" and the romantic interest, but Fox vetoed any kind of human-ape romance calling it "weird and unnatural". The veto stood even after Burton offered to make it platonic or just implied.
  • Thade was first written as a Killer Gorilla, but Burton changed him to a chimpanzee after Rick Baker told him that chimps are meaner.
  • Female chimpanzees weren't going to have eyebrows but they were added after the first results were deemed too unsettling.
  • Limbo was going to have a Heel–Face Turn and become a good guy, but Burton and Giamatti agreed that it would be "kind of lame".
  • The original ending was taken from Columbus' draft: Leo crashes in Yankee Stadium and sees apes playing baseball. The camera then pans out to the Statue of Liberty, that has been remodelled into a grinning ape.
  • Everyone signed for a sequel that would explain the final Gainax Ending in Washington but it was cancelled after the film's poor reception by critics.
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes:
  • The first script by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver originated in 2006 as a completely unrelated project, Genesis, centered around an evil genetically-engineered chimpanzee that was raised at a human home and was very smart, but spoke only in sign language. After finishing the script with the release of other engineered apes from a laboratory, Jaffa realized that he had just written a perfect prequel/reboot for POTA, and pitched it to Fox as such. Over thirty rewrites followed.
  • Originally, the human lead was a scientist trying to cure his wife's alzheimers.
  • Tobey Maguire and Shia LaBeouf were contacted to play Will Rodman before James Franco was cast.
  • Will's first romantic interest was Mollie Stewart, a primatologist in Will's laboratory.
  • Rocket would gain intelligence as a result of biting Caesar at the primate sanctuary, and then collaborate with him.
  • Caesar's mother would survive and remain in the laboratory after her child was taken to be raised at Will's home. After gaining intelligence, Caesar and Rocket would sneak in there to free her, but this would go sour because of Koba. Koba would offer Rocket a necklace in exchange for freeing him also, and once outside Koba would murder Franklin and return to his cage, "framing" Caesar.
  • After getting the ALZ-113, Caesar and Roket visited the San Francisco Zoo to infect the apes there before Buck released them the next morning.
  • After deciding that Caesar's mother would die early in the film, Caesar had a "romance" with a female chimpanzee named Cornelia at the ape sanctuary, who was taken to the GenSys lab, and freeing her was his reason to go there instead. Scenes with the two made it into some trailers before being finally cut (Cornelia still returns as Caesar's partner in the sequel, though).
  • Koba would infect Jacobs deliberately with the ALZ-113 while still in the lab. Then he would hitch a taxi that was in turn hitched by Hunsiker, infecting him.
  • Dodge, not Rodney, was the one placed on a cage by the apes and therefore survived. He in turn helped the police at the Golden Bridge (not Jacobs) and would try to shoot Caesar before Buck threw him off the bridge.
  • Brandon Routh auditioned to play Dodge.
  • Will died on Caesar's arms after a battle between apes and police in the woods at the end of the first cut of the film, but this was changed because of poor testing.
  • Another Deleted Scene in the DVD has Caesar pushing Jacobs off the bridge, not Koba.
  • The original stinger had Koba discovering an abandoned police shotgun in the woods and learning to shoot it.
  • In general, the script was made less violent and complex at Fox's request.
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes:
  • Jaffa, Silver and Rise's director Rupert Wyatt signed to do the sequel, but were replaced later.

Police Academy series

• Creator Paul Maslansky originally envisioned the franchise to have ten movies.
• According to Hugh Wilson, the original cut of the first film was around two and a half hours long.
• Billy Crystal, Tom Hanks^note He turned down the part to do Bachelor Party instead, Michael Keaton, Bill Murray^note He was busy with Ghostbusters, Rick Moranis^note Also busy with Ghostbusters, Judge Reinhold^note He did Beverly Hills Cop instead, Jerry Seinfeld, John Travolta, Robin Williams, and Bruce Willis were all considered for the role of Mahoney.
• The role of Commandant Lassard (originally named "Capt. Lewis Lassard" in an earlier draft) was originally written for Leslie Nielsen. Robert Conrad was offered the role, but turned down the part, which he regretted later on, to the point that he took the part of the Police Chief in Moving Violations, which was co-written and directed by Neal Israel, who also co-wrote this film.
• Before Robert Folk was hired, the filmmakers initially wanted Elmer Bernstein to write the first film's score.
• Marion Ramsey was asked to wear a fat suit for her role as Hooks, with the idea that the boot camp training would've rendered her slim by the end of the first film. Due to time constraints, the scene showing Hooks after her weight loss was removed from the final cut. By the time work on the sequel began, the filmmakers changed their minds, opting instead to have Ramsey wearing the fat suit in order to garner audience sympathy for her character. However, a brief shot of slim Hooks remains in the film, as a close-up of Marion Ramsey without the fat suit is seen during the graduates' march at the end of the film.
• James Signorelli was originally scheduled to direct Their First Assignment, but was considered "too edgy" by Paul Maslansky, and was replaced by Jerry Paris.
• Bill Paxton was offered the role of Zed in Their First Assignment, but turned it down when the contract required him to also appear in future sequels.
• After failing to land the part of Mahoney in the first film, Jerry Seinfeld auditioned for the role of Carl Proctor in Their First Assignment. Lance Kinsey and Seinfeld both shared the same manager, and were surprised to see each other in the waiting room at the audition. According to Kinsey, he couldn't help laughing so loud when Seinfeld came back out of the audition room, leaned over to Kinsey, and said, "It's still available."
• Donovan Scott confirmed in his Facebook page that he did actually receive a copy of the script for Their First Assignment, but balked at reprising his role as Barbara due to the combination of both a scene where his character had to "eat cat poop", and the discovery that Hugh Wilson would not be returning for the film. As a result, Barbara was rewritten as Sgt. Vinnie Schtulman, as played by Peter Van Norden.
• G.W. Bailey had hoped to reprise his role as Lt. Harris for Their First Assignment, but was passed over in favor of Art Metrano in both that film and Back in Training. However, on a day off from filming Rustlers' Rhapsody with Hugh Wilson, Bailey made an uncredited cameo as a guest at Tackleberry's wedding to Sgt. Kirkland at the end of the second film.
• Callahan was originally in Their First Assignment, but Leslie Easterbrook dropped out due to her pregnancy.
• Karen Adams, Mahoney's second love interest from Back in Training, was originally called "Karen Hoover" in a earlier draft.
• The Japanese character Nogata, who appeared in both Back in Training and Citizens on Patrol, was originally written as a male Indian police cadet named Ramu, which explains why in the third film, Nogata sleeps on a bed of nails that he picked up in New Delhi, and also likes to meditate with his hand over a candle flame.
• During filming of Back in Training, Bobcat Goldthwait suggested to the filmmakers that the villains in the final chase scene should be the same ones who appear earlier in the film, but Goldthwait was told to just say his lines, and that the filmmakers were not paying him to write.
• Both Back in Training and Citizens on Patrol were originally meant to be filmed back-to-back, but production got held up due to the death of the third film's director Jerry Paris, so Jim Drake was brought in to direct the fourth film.
• When Jerry Paris fell ill, Gene Quintano was offered the chance to direct Citizens on Patrol, but turned it down, not feeling confident enough in his abilities, while the offer went to Jim Drake, and Quintano instead wrote the script. On the day of the film's premiere, Quintano told producer Paul Maslansky that he regretted turning down the director's chair. So, Maslansky offered Quintano the job of writing and directing Honeymoon Academy, which this time Quintano accepted immediately.
• Bobcat Goldthwait and Tim Kazurinsky were both brought on board at the last minute for Citizens on Patrol to replace Fackler and Blankes, who were dropped from the film due to Bruce Mahler and Brant Van Hoffman's negotiations over their pay falling apart.
• In an early draft for Citizens on Patrol, Mr. Kirkland was enrolled in the Citizens on Patrol program. His son Bud Kirkland's role was originally meant to be bigger, but was cut down to only one scene after the death of Andrew Paris's father Jerry, who was originally scheduled to direct the film.
• Tackleberry's wife Kathleen was not originally intended to appear in Citizens on Patrol, as Colleen Camp was unavailable for the originally planned shooting dates, which were back-to-back with those of Back in Training. However, the delay resulting from having to hire a new director after the death of Jerry Paris meant that Camp ended up being available after all, and her character was given a one-scene cameo appearance in the film.
• Harvey Korman was the first choice for the role of Tony in Assignment Miami Beach but was unavailable for the filming dates, resulting in René Auberjonois being cast instead.
• Bobcat Goldthwait refused to reprise his role as Zed in Assignment Miami Beach due to not being able to come to a financial agreement with the filmmakers. As a result, Tim Kazurinsky ended up not being involved either because the filmmakers felt there was no point in bringing back Sweetchuck without Zed. Goldthwait later said that he skipped this sequel because the script lost focus and his character "would never talk like that."
• If Steve Guttenberg had agreed to appear in Assignment Miami Beach, Mahoney would have been promoted to Lieutenant along with Hightower at the end of the film.
• The original plan for City Under Siege was to have Lassard and his crew travel to Moscow, Russia under the working title of Operation Glasnost. However, permission to film in Russia would not be granted until five years later with Mission to Moscow. Then, the sixth film's setting was moved from Russia to London, England, with Richard Curtis and Ben Elton being offered to write the script, and a new working title called The London Beat, but was shot down by Assignment Miami Beach performing below expectations at the box office, resulting in a decreased budget for the sixth film, in comparison to the earlier films' massive budgets, as well as Curtis and Elton turning down the scriptwriting offer, thus it ended up being filmed in Los Angeles.
• After plans to film City Under Siege in England were nixed, the idea was again considered for the seventh film under the working title of Operation Scotland Yard. Paul Maslanky's revisited idea was to have Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, and other former cast members unite with the cast for a Grand Finale to the franchise, with tentative plans for a 1991 theatrical release. However, the final product, Mission to Moscow, ended up being a very different, much lower budget, Direct to Video release, with Guttenberg, Smith, and others declining to return.
• Bubba Smith had planned to reprise his role as Hightower in Mission to Moscow, but ended up withdrawing from the film after being told by the filmmakers that they were not planning to bring back Marion Ramsey as Hooks. As a result, scenes originally written for Hightower (who would've been promoted to Captain) had to be given to some of the other characters (i.e. Tackleberry checking up on Commandant Lassard in his hotel room, Capt. Harris wearing a tutu at the Bolshoi Ballet, etc.), and G.W. Bailey was brought on board at the last minute.
• The three Russian acrobatic police painters (whose names were Brullov, Dukhov, and Repkin) who were assigned to Lassard and friends in Mission to Moscow were originally meant to have a larger role than what was shown in the final cut.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

• In the mid-1980's, New World Pictures pitched a movie idea to Turtles creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird that would've been more of an R-rated comedy film. Gallagher, Sam Kinison, Bobcat Goldthwait and Billy Crystal would've played the turtles dressed in turtles shells with their arms and legs dipped in green paint, with no clothes on whatsoever. Not much is known about this idea except that one of the treatments had the turtles fighting half-naked nuns wielding Uzis in roller skates. Since this idea was pitched around the time the cartoon was about to air, there was probably no chance this movie would've ever been green-lit.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
  • Jennifer Beals, Marisa Tomei, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Melanie Griffith, Sean Young, Lorraine Bracco, Winona Ryder, and Brooke Shields were all considered for April O'Neil.
  • Steve Barron wished to replicate April O'Neil's jumpsuit look from the early Mirage comics and the 1987 cartoon. The look was going to closer resemble the cartoon with a yellow colored jumpsuit and a big head of red hair (as opposed to a green jumpsuit and brown hair). However, Judith Hoag found the jumpsuit "horrifying" and the idea was nixed. The yellow raincoat April wears in the beginning of the movie is a homage to the yellow jumpsuit she wears in the cartoon.
  • The scene where Raphael exits the movie theater would have had no poster for Critters showing, and Raphael, apparently having seen a screening of Batman (1989), would have commented, "Cool car. Stupid costume." This would've been Hilarious in Hindsight since Warner Bros., who produced said movie, would take over this film's distributor, New Line Cinema, in 2008. That said, this version of the scene survives in the Comic-Book Adaptation of the film.
  • Originally, a young Foot ninja named Shinsho was intended to be killed by getting brutally beaten by Tatsu due to the Foot Clan's failure, but executives at New Line Cinema felt the scene was too violent for a PG-rated film. The dialogue was re-dubbed with the kid comforting him saying "you'll be alright," to show Tatsu only injured him. Shinsho's death was retained in the tie-in novelization and the French dub of the film.
  • There are a handful of scenes that were deleted from the final cut for reasons unexplained. They would have given the four turtles much more Character Development, expanding on April and Casey's romance, and would have put later scenes into a different context:
    • April and Casey's reaction to Mikey's "turtle wax" joke was originally one of relief after he goes through a severe Heroic BSoD where he destroys a punching bag and part of the barn's wall
    • An extended training sequence where Leo proves a point by turning his mask around and fighting blind followed by the other Turtles taking turns doing the same. The scene rather famously has Donatello sporting a straw hat.
    • Various scenes of the Turtles training on their own or in pairs trying to master the technique Leo shows them earlier
    • Some of the April and Casey scenes involve him trying to help her with a stuck truck door while she declines and exits on the driver's side. Another leads into the scene of the two of them talking on the porch swing where the night before she shows him her drawings the Turtles but tries to hide the one she did of him in a beanie, they both share a laugh over it.
    • A game of "ninja hot potato" where the Turtles toss around an apple and the holder has to defend against the other three while taking a bite out of it. It makes the later scene where Raph finishes off an apple after defeating a squad of Foot ninjas a Call-Back.
  • The original ending had April quitting her reporter's job in order to pitch the story of their adventures to a comic book company while the Turtles listen in outside the window. When the editor rejects her idea as being too unrealistic Mikey falls off the building. Some stills from this ending appeared in the Panini sticker book tie-in at the time of release.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
  • The original draft for the film had Professor Perry revealing himself to be an Utrom in the ending. This was cut allegedly because New Line didn't want people to confuse him with Krang. Much foreshadowing ended up left in the movie though. Perry immediately recognizes what happened to the Turtles upon first meeting them, and even describes the very accident that led to them coming in contact with the ooze down to the year. He even has suspiciously portentous lines like "Sometimes the best way to hide is right out in public," and "You're the last one, aren't you?" If you pay attention, during the two scenes at T.G.R.I., there appears to be a large rock-like object encased in glass with numerous computers plugged into it. And April later mentions in her news report that the company mysteriously (and literally) "disappeared". The most bizarre effect of this though is the resulting Non-Indicative Title - the "secret of the ooze" is the fact that it's alien in origin, but got cut from the movie!
  • The draft also revealed Bebop and Rocksteady planned to appear in the movie, but Executive Meddling from New Line resulted in them getting replaced with Tokka and Razhar. Alternately, Bebop and Rocksteady were vetoed by Eastman and Laird, who never liked the characters to begin with (Laird moreso).
  • Bits of dialogue explaining where Casey Jones was were cut for reasons unknown. The dialogue never went further than "He was out of town," and caused huge confusion when he inexplicably shows up in the third movie, also without any explanation on why he was gone in the second movie.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
  • Rumor has it that had the original draft for the second movie been taken up, this film would have been based off the Turtles in Space story arc from the comics, rather than the time travel plot it got instead.
• A fourth Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (excluding the All-CGI Cartoon TMNT) went through a lengthy phase of Development Hell and Executive Meddling before being ultimately canceled in favor of a Continuity Reboot in 2014.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: The Next Mutation (no relation to the live-action series of the same name):
    • It would have dealt with the turtles and Splinter finding out that their mutations haven't completed and they develop new powers. Mikey would have developed a human-like appearance that would allow him to go to the surface, Donnie's eyesight would have faded and he would make special goggles that would allow him to see better, Leo would change his skin to a chrome-like surface, Raph would turn more monstrous, and Splinter would bulk up. This movie was quickly scrapped once Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III flopped, and the idea of accelerated mutations was introduced in later seasons of the Fred Wolf cartoon.
    • This page features concept art of what the Turtles would have been portrayed as in the movie. No word yet on what kind of Nightmare Fuel the New Line executives went through.
    • There were plans to have a fifth turtle in the film, whose name is known only in the early concepts as "Kirby." This idea later resurfaced in a short-lived live-action television series called Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, where the turtle is a female named Venus.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: The Foot Walks Again: A Darker and Edgier sequel that would have ignored the events of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III and feature the return of the Foot Clan and Super Shredder. Not much is known about this movie, except that it removed the idea of accelerated mutations whilst keeping "Kirby." New characters would be introduced in the movie, and also feature an Evil April. The concept art was also slightly modified.
  • Untitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot (2011): After the All-CGI Cartoon TMNT, which continued the story after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, failed to meet expectations, Warner Bros. decided to reboot the live-action film series, with input from TMNT franchise owner Mirage Comics. This film was to be a direct sequel to the original movie that would outline the turtles' origins, which would have rendered the sequels, as well as the animated movie, non-canon. Like the failed The Foot Walks Again, this was to have a Darker and Edgier plot, but this time written by John Fusco and based off the original black and white comics from Turtles creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Thanks to script disagreements from Paramount Pictures (who was to co-produce the movie with Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, in their second collaboration following Watchmen), the film didn't get very far when Nickelodeon acquired the rights to the TMNT property, directly resulting in Warner Bros. losing the film rights to the series, Fusco getting booted out, and causing this project to be scrapped entirely. Nickelodeon, with Paramount's input, decided to do things their own way, and what we instead got was a complete Continuity Reboot released in 2014.
• TMNT (2007) ended up being the film that continued the story after TMNT III, though it had some ideas of its own that never made it to the screen:
  • Kevin Munroe stated that he would have liked to do a sequel, either featuring the Foot Clan (which, given Karai's ominous remark at the end of the film, indicated that the Shredder might have come back), the Rat King, or the Triceratons. Munroe also expressed interest in having Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chris Evans reprise their roles as April and Casey in a live action film. Because of Imagi Studios' financial troubles, Warner Bros. abandoned the sequel in an ill-fated attempt to reboot the live-action universe (see above) that went bust after Nickelodeon acquired the TMNT property.
  • Originally the backstory of Yaotyl and the Generals was going to be told by Winters when April and Casey deliver Aguila's statue to him, but the filmmakers decided to just get everyone on the front page in the film's prologue.
  • An abandoned sub-plot would have featured Casey working up the courage to propose to April, which he would've done at the film's end.
  • The opening would've been narrated by Splinter, and the opening sequence thereafter would have introduced Raph as the Nightwatcher. This opening can be found on the DVD.
  • In an earlier draft that found its' way into tie-in materials, Yaotyl and the Generals would've succeeded in destroying the ancient civilization we see them attacking in the prologue, but they would've been cursed with immortality and being turned to stone by a sorceress from the civilization who was not present at the battle.
  • The fight between Leo and Raph would've had them fight barehanded. The nearly completed scene can be viewed on the DVD.
  • As shown in this video, the movie was originally going to have just voice actors until Executive Meddling kicked in, resulting in some celebrity casting. Only intervention by the creators got the turtles and most of the supporting characters to be played by voice actors.
• Speaking of that reboot:
  • In earlier scripts, Casey Jones was going to be present and be the main protagonist. The movie would've had the turtles as aliens rather than mutants. The Shredder was changed to a white, American military officer named "Colonel Schraeder," with the Foot depicted as a black-ops military unit rather than a ninja clan. Schraeder would've eventually been revealed to be an alien in disguise and a Composite Character of himself and Krang. This was supposedly scrapped after negative fan reaction, as well as vocal displeasure from those who were previously involved in the franchise.
  • Eric Sacks was originally announced to be the film's incarnation of the Shredder. But massive backlash to "White Shredder" from fans resulted in the film having scenes reshot with a more traditional version of the Shredder.^note Rumors said he was going to be the adopted son of Oroku Saki, making Shredder a Legacy Character and/or a Collective Identity (explaining why the Foot Clan has modern gear; they're just the American branch and the Japanese Foot are still traditional ninja). This change was made so late in development that Sacks as the Shredder was used in the Nintendo 3DS adaptation.
  • K. Todd Freeman was cast as Baxter Stockman, according to IMDB, but all his scenes were cut from the film, presumably for the above re-shoots.
  • Concept art has revealed that at one point, Rocksteady and Bebop from the original TV show were going to appear as well. The sequel, Out Of The Shadows, features them proper.
  • Minae Noji filmed more scenes as Karai, including a fight scene with April. She would have dominated most of the fight, only for Vernon to knock her off balance with his camera, allowing April to finish her off. The entire fight sequence was cut for unknown reasons, essentially making Karai's role in the film a mere cameo.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows:
  • Its working title was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half-Shell, before the trailer officially revealed its real subtitle.
  • CM Punk auditioned for the role of Rocksteady, but lost it to fellow WWE wrestler Sheamus.

Franchise/Universal Horror

• Dracula (1931): Originally Lon Chaney Sr was the main option to play Count Dracula, but his death made this impossible.
  • Originally, the movie was more like the novel, including the Transylvania climax scenes. Due to high budget, this was not possible.
• The Mummy (1932): While this movie was at it's planeation as a Boris Karloff movie, originally was never link with the egyptian ambience. Instead would be a Cagliostro movie. Was after King Tutankhamun's tomb discovery the inspiration of this, and the curse.
• Werewolf of London: The movie was going to be an adaptation from the novel Werewolf Of Paris.
  • The makeup by Jack Pierce, was more close to his posterior work in The Wolf Man (1941), but in the script, Henry Hull's character was recognizable as the werewolf.
• Dracula's Daughter'': Originally was going to be directed by James Whale. It had a prologue set in the Middle Ages (XIV century) showing Dracula's backstory and his "daughter" (a humble peasant who was a victim from him). Countess Zaleska was more malicious, and the plot had Van Helsing travelling to Transylvania, hunting the sadistic vampire.
• The Wolf Man (1941)'': Originally Boris Karloff was the main option to play the titular character.
  • Originally, Larry Talbot wasn't related to Sir John. He was an american engineer who comes to Llanwely to fix Sir John's telescope and was trapped in the werewolf curse.
  • The main plot was an ambiguous psychological thriller with no answer if Larry Talbot was really a werewolf, or if it was all in his mind.

Individual films

• Abominable: The film was originally meant to be solely from Preston's and the monster's perspectives (save for the opening scene) and keep Karen's fate ambiguous, but the director ultimately decided to include additional scenes of the girls next door to keep them from being too flat of characters, and then decided to have a few cutaways to the hunters (who all survived or never appeared at all in the original version) and the police officers.
• Army of the Dead: The project started way back in 2008, and was going to be a sequel to Zack Snyder's own Dawn of the Dead (it's not, in the end). Dutch director and screenwriter Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. (best known for The Thing prequel) was set to helm the film back then, and he had some disgusting script ideas such as male zombies spreading the zombie plague by... raping living human females. None of these ideas were retained when Snyder came onboard, the script was heavily rewritten.
• Beach Party:
  • The first draft focused more on the idea of children getting in trouble with their parents. The rewrites emphasized the teens having fun, and not getting in trouble.
  • Fabian Forte was the first choice to play Frankie, but 20th Century Fox refused to loan him out. Thus Frankie Avalon was cast instead.
• In 1963, Natalie Wood and French director Serge Bourguignon were to work together on the film version of a novel by Dorothy Baker called Cassandra at the Wedding. Mart Crowley wrote the script for this project. She would have portrayed twins, one of which was a lesbian, no less. The plans for this production fell through.
• Carry On London was first announced in 2003, and was in and out of pre-production all the way until 2008. This attempt to revive the legendary series of British comedy films would have focused around a London limousine company ferrying celebrities to an award show. Various names — including David Jason, Burt Reynolds and the late Paul O'Grady — were attached the project at various points, and production went as far as sets going up at Pinewood Studios before the plug was pulled after producer Peter Rogers died.
• Dad's Army (1971):
  • David Croft and Jimmy Perry's initial screenplay was less cinematic with a different plot and pacing before Norman Cohen and Columbia Pictures' Executive Meddling took place.
  • An early draft ended in 1945, showing the disbanding of the Home Guard and Captain Mainwaring being presented with an engraved silver tankard.
• Dad's Army (2016): A scene was written between Mrs. Mainwaring and The Vicar that had to be cut due to issues with Frank Williams' availability (he was on a cruise in Russia). To make up for this lost scene, the scene between the Vicar and Godfrey in the church hall was written at the last second.
• Dracula's Daughter: The original script had a prologue set in the Middle Ages, and focused on the legend of Universal Monsters's version of Count Dracula. The titular character was going to be a succubus-like sadistic vampire who made a little appearance at the end, with the heroes tracking her in the most part of the movie. This was scrapped, with Dracula's Daughter being a more sympathetic tragic character.
• Flash Gordon (1980): BRIAN BLESSED suggested they should try to get Buster Crabbe to make a Remake Cameo as Flash's father, but Dino De Laurentiis wanted his film to be entirely separate from the serials.
• Giraffes On Horseback Salad was originally intended by Salvador Dalí to be a romantic comedy starring Harpo Marx. After MGM refused the idea, it was forgotten for almost 80 years, until writer Josh Frank found Dali's notebook for the film and then revived it as a graphic novel.
• Hamlet (1948): Stanley Holloway was an 11th-hour choice; the actor who was supposed to play the gravedigger, F.J. McCormick, died shortly before filming.
• The Howling (1981):
  • The first drafts of the screenplay, co-written by Terence H. Winkless, were more faithful to the book, but it was felt parts of it didn't work so well onscreen. John Sayles was hired to rewrite the script, deviating greatly from the book's story and adding more self-aware humour, though Winkless still received a co-writing credit.
  • Jack Conrad was originally set to direct and contributed to the screenplay, but left due to Creative Differences with the studio and was replaced by Joe Dante.
  • Rick Baker was originally hired to do the special effects and werewolf designs for the film, but left midway through the production to work on An American Werewolf in London, letting his then-protege, Rob Bottin, take charge while staying on as a designer and consultant. Baker let Bottin have complete control when he realised the designs he kept coming up with were too similar to the ones he was making for An American Werewolf in London, which he felt was unfair to both productions.
  • The studio originally wanted the werewolves to be portrayed as large wolves, but Joe Dante refused and pushed for them to be depicted as human-wolf hybrids using special effects, as he felt that just using real wolves wouldn't be scary or fantastical enough, not to mention the challenges of getting the wolves to do what the filmmakers wanted on-set.
  • Rob Bottin went through multiple different designs for the werewolves, including sculpting ten separate heads; he rejected many designs for looking too similar to earlier werewolf depictions on film, as he wanted The Howling's werewolves to be more unique. The final look was actually one of Bottin's earliest designs, which he had initially rejected "but I wound up really liking it".
  • The werewolf puppets and animatronics are mostly shot from the waist up because the legs didn't look convincing or were absent entirely to make the puppets easier to move; Joe Dante wasn't keen on the idea of using actors wearing suits because he felt it would be obvious that's what they were and thus break the immersion. There were lengthy scenes created by Dave Allen using stop-motion models that showed the werewolves fully, but they were largely scrapped after test screenings; although the stop-motion animation was good, the way the werewolves looked and moved in these scenes differed too much from the life-size puppets (to the point some viewers thought the scenes were from a different production). The only stop-motion scene that remains in the finished film is a trio of werewolves standing on the road near the end as Karen and Chris make their escape.
  Joe Dante: At various screenings, after the picture people were coming up to me and asking what picture the neat stop-motion footage came from. There was nothing wrong with those shots; it was just that the werewolves moved differently — like in a Ray Harryhausen film where they cut from a stop-motion creature to a full-size live-action shot. Also, the colours of the werewolves were slightly different from the full-size wolf, which we didn’t have at the time Dave Allen started up.
  • Adult film actress Annette Haven was initially offered the role of Marsha Quist, but turned it down. Haven didn't have an issue with the nudity and sex scenes required for the role, but rather disliked the violent content in the script.
• French director Claude Lelouch announced that he was preparing a sequel to his 1988 film Itinerary of a Spoiled Child, with Jean-Paul Belmondo set to return. Belmondo passed away in 2021 without the project having had time to materialize.
• The Swedish adaptation of Olsen-banden går amok^note which was renamed Jönssonligan och Dynamit-Harry was originally going to star Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt as Dynamit-Harry. While he appeared to look forward to playing the role, he was forced to back out of the project merely a few weeks before filming was to start. The crew also considered replacing him with Ernst-Hugo Järegård for a brief period before Björn Gustafson ultimately took the role.
• Lady Ballers, a sports comedy made by far-right news outlet The Daily Wire about men claiming to be transgender women in order to play in a women's basketball league, was originally going to be a documentary, according to Ben Shapiro, co-founder of The Daily Wire. Since, as it turns out, joining a women's sports league when you're AMAB isn't actually as easy as saying "I'm a trans woman", this proved infeasible to do, so the concept had to be retooled into a fictional story.
• "Liam Gallagher: Knebworth 22", a documentary film about former Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher's 2022 concerts at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, was going to have Oasis songs until his brother Noel blocked his band's songs from appearing in the documentary, leaving just Liam's solo songs.
• Mila Kunis auditioned for the role of the titular character (who is a Russian-Jewish immigrant) in Make a Wish, Molly. The producers reportedly didn't believe she looked Jewish or Russian enough, and instead casted her as Melinda, a Hispanic girl.^note  On the off-chance the reader is unaware, Mila was born in Ukraine to a Jewish family.
• Mr. Vampire: Golden Harvest tried to make an English language version of Mr. Vampire called Demon Hunters. The film's star actor Lam Ching Ying was unavailable so Yuen Wah took over as protagonist; Jack Scalia of Dallas and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas were slated for the movie too. Filming was done in Hong Kong but plagued by constant problems, leading to Golden Harvest cancelling the project. The footage is still in their possession and hasn't been made public.
• Casting for the title role in The Phantom came down to Billy Zane and Bruce Campbell. They went with Zane, leaving us to wonder how it would have worked with Bruce Campbell and his acting style.
• My Animal: According to an interview with director Jaqueline Castel, she was considering having the movie end with a Time Skip where Heather and Jonny indeed got back together, but ultimately decided to leave things more open with the "Ray of Hope" Ending the final product has.
• In Please Turn Over, a cashier was intended to have been played by Anne Sharp but was replaced by Leigh Madison once filming began.
• Up Pompeii: The idea for the Distant Finale came later, as the screenplay ended with Lurcio accepting his fate during the destruction of Pompeii.

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