Thousands of screenplays get passed around between studios, and even Daniel Radcliffe wants to direct his own script. But while so many original scripts are labored over by passionate writers, many of them have been bought to simply be used as a sequel in a popular franchise. It happens all the time, but mostly behind closed studio doors, and the general public rarely finds out about it unless it's reported on by a Hollywood insider.
Studios do this for so many different reasons, whether it's because of time constraints of developing a sequel, or because the screenplay is good but would be more successful with a franchise name attached to it. These are the biggest examples of original spec scripts spun into movie sequels, and while the process has negative connotations, they're not all bad. Whether it's an abysmal family comedy or an incredible genre-switching thriller, the process has mixed results.
Evan Almighty (2007)
Bruce Almighty is a hugely high-grossing comedy, and the narrative is so original and inventive. The sequel, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. Instead of telling a unique story or giving a character the powers of God, Evan Almighty is simply a modern retelling of Noah's Ark.
It all started with a spec script that, according to Script Shadow, was spun into the 2007 movie. The article notes that the original screenplay, The Passion of the Ark, wasn't any better and was full of "Jay Leno humor." So it seems like the sequel was doomed from development.
Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995)
A lot of fans prefer Die Hard 3 to the classic original, but that's because it was originally a hot spec script that every studio wanted. According to Slash Film, the screenplay was originally titled Simon Says, and, interestingly, before Fox spun the spec script into the Die Hard threequel, Warner Bros. wanted it for a Lethal Weapon sequel too.
The third Die Hard movie isn't the only release in the franchise that's based on outside source material. According to Audible, Die Hard 2 is based on the crime thriller novel 58 minutes. It comes as a surprise that the studio had to find inspiration from outside sources for the second film, as it has an almost identical premise as the original movie, only it's set in an airport instead of the Nakatomi Plaza.
Are We Done Yet? (2007)
Though the first screenplay for Are We Done Yet? wasn't written with the intention of it being an Are We There Yet? sequel, the screenplay also isn't completely original. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the screenplay for Are We Done Yet? was originally a remake of the classic 1948 movie, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, which morphed into the Ice Cube vehicle.
The 1940s movie follows a couple who move to Connecticut from New York and buy the house from hell, which isn't all that different from Are We Done Yet? The 2007 family comedy isn't the only secret remake of Mr. Blandings, as The Money Pit also has the exact same premise.
Saw II (2005)
The Saw franchise has gotten consecutively worse with each release, but the first sequel is one of the best Saw movies and arguably as good as the original. According to Bloody Disgusting, the sequel was originally a spec script titled The Desperate. The writer of the spec script, Darren Bousman, explains in hilarious detail how it came to be.
Before Saw had even been released, Twisted Pictures wanted a quick turnaround on a Saw sequel, and the quickest way to do it was by spinning The Desperate into Saw II. At first, after not having seen Saw, Bousman didn't accept the offer. But when the studio screened it for him, he immediately agreed.
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
While it has become expected of the Cloverfield franchise now, as the studio has released a couple of anthology sequels at this point, 10 Cloverfield Lane was the first to do it and threw everyone off guard. Critics and audiences praised the switch in genres from monster disaster movie to claustrophobic isolated thriller movie. But it wasn't always the original intention.
According to The Film Stage, Bad Robot molded a spec script, appropriately titled The Cellar, into the sequel. The article breaks down the similarities and the differences between the original The Cellar script and the final result, and there were actually very few differences made. The only big change was the final few minutes where it really crosses over with the Cloververse.
The Cloverfield Paradox
Bad Robot looking to spec scripts for inspiration for 10 Cloverfield Lane seemingly started a trend, as the studio did the same thing for the second standalone sequel in the series, The Cloverfield Paradox. According to The Verge, the sci-fi horror was originally a screenplay called The God Particle, and unlike other movies, it was well into principal photography when producer J.J. Abrams decided to connect it to the Cloverfield universe.
That led to a ton of reshoots, and without conceiving a fully fleshed-out idea, the result was a convoluted and messy movie. The Cloverfield Paradox didn't have quite the same success as 10 Cloverfield Lane. The 2018 movie was released direct to Netflix, and it was almost as if the studio knew it was going to be critically scathed and a box office bomb.
Ocean's Twelve (2004)
According to Entertainment Weekly, Ocean's Twelve wasn't originally written to be a follow-up to the all-star heist caper. Instead, it was an original screenplay titled Honor Among Thieves, and it had a lot of parallels with the Ocean's series. The screenplay followed two thieves who were just as invested in the oneupmanship as they were in the actual heist.
The originality of the screenplay can still be found in the 2004 movie, as it follows Danny and his crew working on several smaller heists around Europe instead of one giant heist in Las Vegas. And, ironically, where the film tries to tie into the series is where it fails, such as the use of Beatrice in the movie's final act. But it's still a great movie and an unfairly overlooked sequel.
American Psycho 2 (2002)
American Psycho 2 is one of the weirdest sequels ever made. The original American Psycho is a classic satirical thriller that follows Patrick Bateman, a sociopath yuppie and misogynistic serial killer. And the movie ends ambiguously, leaving the viewer to wonder whether or not all of the murders were in his head. The sequel, on the hand, is a supernatural horror that sees a woman embody the spirit of the deceased Bateman.
The reason it might sound weird is because, according to The Guardian, the Patrick Bateman subplot was shoehorned into a spec script, The Girl Wouldn't Die, and retitled American Psycho 2. The studio did this because they thought it'd make more money at the box office, but it ended up doing the exact opposite.