Hit serial killer thriller Se7en was at one point planned to receive a sequel called Ei8ht, but the project eventually became something else entirely. When it comes to movies about the hunt for a serial killer, there are few in the league of Se7en, the second feature to be directed by David Fincher. A critical and commercial smash, Se7en was one of the biggest success stories of 1995, despite the studio trying desperately to convince Fincher and star Brad Pitt to change the film's bleak ending.

With that kind of pop culture cache at its disposal, one would presume New Line Cinema might actually want to rush right into a follow-up, preferably with Pitt and Morgan Freeman back in their roles. However, that's actually not what happened. There were no real murmurs of a Se7en sequel for almost a decade after Fincher's film hit theaters, and considering its definitive conclusion, that was probably for the best. Sadly, the desire to leverage the property further eventually did win out over common sense.

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In 2002, New Line Cinema announced plans to develop a sequel to Se7en, tentatively titled Ei8ht. While the studio was ready to go, it turned out not many people they wanted to be involved were very interested.

Why Se7en's Sequel Ei8ht Never Got Made

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In an odd move, New Line Cinema opted to grab a script they thought seemed similar to Se7en and retool it into a sequel, instead of commissioning a true follow-up. The script was originally called Solace, and written by Ted Griffin. Its story concerned a detective with psychic powers trying to stop a serial killer who's also psychic, and those thinking that sounds nothing like Se7en are absolutely correct, but for whatever reason, New Line wanted to slot Morgan Freeman's Somerset into the hero slot. Brad Pitt's Mills wasn't planned to be involved. David Fincher also made it known that he wanted nothing to do with Ei8ht.

For reasons not entirely clear though, Ei8ht ended up being scrapped by New Line brass, in a perfect world because either Freeman or someone else involved realized what a terrible idea it was to make Somerset psychic all of a sudden. Years later, Solace would get another look, becoming the standalone film it was originally meant to be in 2015. Starring Anthony Hopkins in the psychic detective role, Solace was a critical and commercial failure, and suggests that Se7en fans really dodged a bullet by not getting Ei8ht. As great a movie as Se7en was, not everything needs to be a franchise.

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