1995 fantasy comedy Casper was a huge box office hit, and seemed ripe for a proper sequel, but sadly for fans, one never came together. To be sure, Casper wasn't a critical darling, earning decidedly mixed reviews. From its target family audience though, Casper earned raves, raking in nearly $290 million on a budget of only $50 million. That's the kind of return on investment that usually guarantees a follow-up. Casper eventually did get one, but not how fans of the 1995 film hoped.
In 1997, a kinda, sorta prequel was released direct to video called Casper: A Spirited Beginning, and is somewhat of an origin story, with the caveat that no other characters from the 1995 film return, and Casper's past as a human being isn't acknowledged. Basically, A Spirited Beginning was just a standard direct to video sequel targeted at kids, and didn't retain any of the prior film's magic. Another direct to video movie, Casper Meets Wendy, arrived in 1998, to similarly underwhelming results.
As one might imagine, it turns out that at one point, Universal Pictures did want to make an actual sequel to Casper's theatrical movie, with the cast returning. Here's why that didn't happen, despite the 1995 film's immense success.
Why Casper 2 Never Happened
A proper Casper 2 came close to happening at two different points. Not long after the first film was released, a sequel was proposed, and a script draft was written. Unfortunately, stars Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci were tied up with other projects, and the studio didn't want to wait for them to become available. In the meantime, they created a sequel cartoon series called The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper. A few years later, Prince of Egypt helmer Simon Wells was hired to write a new Casper 2 script, with the intent he would direct as well. The desire was again that Pullman and Ricci would return to their roles.
By summer 2000 though, Universal had scrapped Casper 2, believing that the likely cost of the sequel didn't make sense so many years after the original had been a hit. Responses to the direct to video Casper follow-ups had also been lukewarm at best. On top of that, Ricci wasn't keen on coming back, as she had become an adult, and wanted to move past the kind of roles she had played as a child star. Sadly, those factors put the nail in Casper 2's coffin, but one assumes the property will get rebooted on the big screen someday. Until then, those who grew up with the original will always be free to give their Blu-Rays or digital copies another spin.