32 Strange Early Drafts of Your Favorite Movies That Luckily Had Someone There to Say, ‘Umm, No!’

That scene where Rocky gives up would’ve been so awesome!
32 Strange Early Drafts of Your Favorite Movies That Luckily Had Someone There to Say, ‘Umm, No!’
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Since a beloved movie is perfect just the way it is, it’s easy to think that it was made exactly how the creators intended to make it. But now that we’ve seen a ton of awesome “making of” or behind-the-scenes docs, we know that improv, casting choices and deleted scenes can make for wildly different finished products.

This list takes “what could have been” to a whole new level, since these early drafts could’ve made lovable movies not-so-lovable.

Toy Story

The very first idea for Toy Story didn't feature Woody or Buzz at all. LIGHTAZEAR Instead, it was about Tinny, a toy from Pixar's short Tin Toy, who'd pair up with a ventriloquist dummy and they'd go looking for a new home. CRACKED.COM

Anchorman

CRACKED.COM Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was originally a survival story with killer primates. In the first draft, the San Diego news team is traveling when Burgundy tries to pilot their plane, hits a cargo plane carrying orangutans and throwing stars, and they all crash on a remote mountainside. For the rest of the film, the crew have to outlast the elements and a bunch of crazy apes chasing them with ninja weapons.

Pretty in Pink

Pretty in Pink originally ended with Andie picking Duckie but the test audiences didn't like it. CRACKED.COM

Baby Driver

CRACKED COM Edgar Wright's original script ending for BABY DRIVER heavily implied that the post-prison reunion of Baby and Debora was actually a dream

Pineapple Express

Red was a much smaller part in the original Pineapple Express script Не was supposed to die the first time he got shot. However, the writers found Danny McBride so funny that they decided to keep him alive for the whole movie. CRACKED.COM

Spider-Man

The original villain in the 2002 Spider-Man movie was supposed to be Electro. And Electro would be motivated by trying to get Spidey to join him-he'd even get J. Jonah Jameson to mount a smear campaign against Spidey. CRACKED.COM

Black Widow

Black Widow almost never showed up at all in the first Avengers movie. The first draft, by Joss Whedon, doesn't include her-instead, there's Wasp, who'd get introduced to the MCU years later. CRACKED.COM

Deadpool 2

Deadpool 2 almost showed Deadpool as, uh, a father (somehow). The initial idea floated by Ryan Reynolds and his co-writers on the movie was What if Deadpool had a child?, but it just did not work out at all. CRACKED.COM

Interstellar

The first version of Interstellar was more of a light adventure movie. That's when it was still a Spielberg project, so it didn't have much of a Christopher Nolan feel - for example, the robots weren't the clunky machines you saw, but humanoid and kind of like those in Spielberg's AI. CRACKED.COM

Avengers: Infinity War

In an early draft of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos himself was the narrator. And the movie was actually non-linear - it had backstories for the Black Order, and they were all introduced in very cool sequences, according to co-director Joe Russo. CRACKED.COM

Ghostbusters

S Early drafts of movies Ghostbusters The first script was more Avengers than Ghostbusters. Dan Aykroyd's idea was set in the future, it had multiple groups of Ghosbusters protecting Earth, and it ended with several ghosts and monsters fighting them. The studio passed on it, and Aykroyd was forced to scale the idea down. CRACKED.COM

Back to the Future

Early drafts of movies Back to the Future The original title was Spaceman from Pluto. The story was about a suicidal teen trying to off himself by getting into a device rigged up inside a car wash - which was actually a time machine. The ending had the time machine inside a fridge and propelled by a nuclear blast. CRACKED.COM

Alien 3

Early drafts of movies Alien3 The movie was set on a wooden monastery planet. Alien 3 had many versions, with one of them having an impregnated Ripley held prisoner by space monks who think she's possessed. A producer even called it artsy-fartsy. CRACKED.COM

Birdman

CRACKED.COM SEBS DE Early drafts of movies Birdman The original ending was like a lame SNL sketch. Michael Keaton's play was a success - and then the story began again, with Johnny Depp sitting in a dressing room next to a Jack Sparrow poster. The poster then came to life and asked him: What the f**ck are we doing here, mate?

Pretty Woman

Early drafts of movies Pretty Woman It was a serious, dark drama. J. F. Lawton was writing ninja movies when he penned this script called $3,000. Disney asked him for a lighter rewrite, and surprisingly he made it too light. Other writers were then asked to find the sweet spot and fix the melancholic ending. CRACKED.COM

Terminator: Salvation

Early drafts of movies Terminator: Salvation The ending had a John Connor-Terminator hybrid. In John Brancato and Michael Ferris' dark original ending, John Connor died and his skin was grafted onto Marcus' cybernetic skeleton. The new Marcus- Connor Terminator then killed all the heroes, and the machines ended up winning. CRACKED.COM

Star Wars

CRACKED.COM Early drafts of movies Star Wars The original title was quite a mouthful. Adventures of the Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars had Han Solo as a green monster, and Annikin Starkiller as a teenager saved by General Luke Skywalker.

The Truman Show

Early drafts of movies The Truman Show It was going to be a dark Brian De Palma movie. The Malcolm Show was inspired by a dark comedy episode of the '8os revival of The Twilight Zone. By the time Peter Weir was set to direct, the script had gone through around 25 rewrites. CRACKED.COM

E.T.

Early drafts of movies E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial It was originally a horror story. The initial script, titled Night Skies, was about a home invasion by aliens, one of which was friendly. The entire idea became E.T, and the horror element turned into Poltergeist. CRACKED.COM

Return of the Jedi

Early drafts of movies Return of the Jedi The Jedi did return- from the dead. Obi-Wan! Yoda! They all came back to life to... not help Luke, actually, but watch from the sidelines as he battled Vader alone (while offering running commentary like it was a sports show). CRACKED.COM

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Early drafts of movies Raiders of the Lost Ark Indiana Jones was a pedophile. George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Lawrence Kasdan thought it'd be amusing for Indy to have had an affair with a young girl - as young as 12. As Lucas put it, they shouldn't go higher than 16, because then it's not interesting anymore. CRACKED.COM

Dr. No

CRACKED.COM Early drafts of movies Dr. No Dr. No was a monkey. The writers were told to make the Bond villain menacing - which they somehow took to mean, make him an actual monkey with genius-level IQ. The producers Doctor-Noped the draft right away.

Spider-Man (Again)

CRACKED.COM Early drafts of movies Spider-Man Spider-Man practiced spider-BDSM. James Cameron's '90s script had Peter Parker tying up Mary Jane with spider webs in a sexy way, and using the mating rituals of spiders as pillow talk.

Se7en

CRACKED.COM SE7EN IS A BLEAK MOVIE WITH A BLEAKER ENDING. HOWEVER... THE SCRIPT WAS EVEN DARKER. John Doe was originally supposed to take Detective Mills hostage and kill him. Then Detective Somerset would torture Doe and burn him alive. PLEASE HANDLE WITH CARE FRAGILE

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

FERRIS BUELLER IS AN ADORABLE, FREEWHEELING TRUANT. PERHAPS YOU DIDN'T KNOW... НЕ WAS ALMOST A THIEF AS WELL. In an early draft of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ferris steals his dad's saving bonds to fund his day off. CRACKED.COM

Alien

CRACKED.COM RIPLEY KICKING ALIEN BUTT AT THE LAST MINUTE SPAWNED A FRANCHISE THAT STILL GOES ON. EXCEPT... SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO LIVE. Alien was going to end with the creature biting Ripley's head off and mimicking her voice to record a final log entry.

Jurassic Park

CRACKED.COM THE RULED THE T. REX TOTALLY RULES THE ENDING OF JURASSIC PARK. HOWEVER... THAT WAS AN AFTERTHOUGHT. The scripted ending had Grant and Hammond killing the raptors themselves. Then Spielberg realized that the Rex just had to come back.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

IN ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, JOEL AND CLEMENTINE ERASE ONE ANOTHER FROM THEIR MEMORIES. NOT JUST ONCE OR TWICE, BUT... 15 TIMES IN 50 YEARS. In a version of the script, Joel and Clementine keep coming back together and then getting mind wipes repeatedly over several decades. CRACKED.COM

Lion King

SCAR IS DEVOURED BY HIS HYENAS, WHICH IS PRETTY HORRIFIC FOR DISNEY. BUT... ORIGINALLY, IT WAS EVEN WORSE. In an alternate ending to The Lion King, which was storyboarded but never animated, Scar believes that he's won and is engulfed by flames as he celebrates. CRACKED.COM

Rocky

CRACKED.COM ROCKY IS A STORY ABOUT PERSEVERANCE. ROCKY BALBOA NEVER QUITS, NO MATTER WHAT. THAT'S JUST THE FINISHED MOVIE, THOUGH. ORIGINALLY, НЕ DID QUIT. The first script had Rocky throw the fight after realizing he didn't actually want to be a boxer.

Star Trek

32 Strange Early Drafts of Your Favorite Movies That Luckily Had Someone There to Say, ‘Umm, No!’

Casablanca

RICK BECOMES FAMOUSLY CHUMMY WITH CAPTAIN RENAULT AT THE END OF CASABLANCA. A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP! BUT... НЕ WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ARRESTED. In the original, unproduced play, Rick is taken into custody for helping the fugitives escape, and presumably sent to a concentration camp. CRACKED.COM

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