Steven Spielberg Recalls “Hard-Fought Victory” to Stop ‘E.T.’ Sequel: “I Didn’t Have Any Rights”

Steven Spielberg Recalls “Hard-Fought Victory” to Stop ‘E.T.’ Sequel: “I Didn’t Have Any Rights”

Steven Spielberg says that his efforts to prevent a sequel to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial influenced his decision to secure “freeze” rights on his future projects. 

The Oscar-winning director recalled stopping a follow-up to his beloved 1982 film, saying he has “no intention” of ever making a sequel, while discussing the movie with star Drew Barrymore on Saturday night as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival: New York Pop-Up  x  92NY event. 

“That was a real hard-fought victory because I didn’t have any rights. Before E.T., I had some rights, but I didn’t have a lot of rights,” he told the crowd. “I kind of didn’t have what we call ‘the freeze,’ where you can stop the studio from making a sequel because you control the freeze on sequels, remakes and other ancillary uses of the IP. I didn’t have that. I got it after E.T. because of its success.”

The sci-fi family adventure, which starred Barrymore, Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Dee Wallace and Peter Coyote, won four Oscars and was the highest-grossing film of the year, along with being the first film to earn more than $300 million at the U.S. box office. Its title as highest grossing film was usurped in the 1990s by another Spielberg film, Jurassic Park. 

While discussing his effort to quell any potential continuations, Spielberg addressed his own reasons for not wanting to do a second film. “I just did not want to make a sequel. I flirted with it for a little bit — just a little bit to see if I [could] think of a story — and the only thing I could think about was a book that was written by somebody that wrote the book for it called The Green Planet, which was all going to take place at E.T.’s home,” he said. “We were all going to be able to go to E.T.’s home and see how E.T. lived. But it was better as a novel than I think it would have been as a film.”

The director, seated on the Geffen Stage at the 92Y’s Kaufman Concert Hall, added, “I have no intention ever of seeing E.T. anywhere outside of this proscenium.” 

Barrymore, who was six and seven at the time of the movie’s filming and release, also recalled having a conversation with Spielberg about not pursuing a sequel. “I remember you saying, ‘We are not making a sequel to E.T.‘ I think I was eight. I remember being like, ‘OK, that’s a bummer, but I totally get it,’” she said. “I thought it was a smart choice. I very much understand it. Where do we go from here? They’re just going to compare it to the first and leave something that’s perfect alone in isolation open to scrutiny. It made so much sense.”

In 2023, members of the cast discussed the potential of a sequel on Barrymore’s daytime show, with star Thomas noting that, “they talked about it in the early ‘80s because it was such a success, and I think Universal [Pictures] wanted a sequel. But I think it’s hard to think about a sequel without [writer] Melissa Mathison, who passed away recently — it’s hard to think of a sequel without a script from her.” 

Spielberg and Barrymore discussed the sequel that never happened and more during a lively 30-minute  retrospective panel, moderated by TCM host Dave Karger. Taking place ahead of the film’s screening, the conversation — a last-minute schedule swap after a talk with Meryl Streep timed to the 30th anniversary of Out of Africa was canceled due to the Los Angeles wildfires — was equal parts sentimental and illuminating. “We haven’t done an interview like this about E.T. for a long time,” Spielberg acknowledged at the top of the conversation. “Ever since the movie ended.”

“We’re luckily close and consistent. It’s so important to maintain those relationships that mean so much to you,” Barrymore added while noting the two generally stay in frequent contact. “I’m always texting and bugging so that’s fun, too. It’s easier to keep in touch now, in some ways, than ever. And I love to show up. You’ve taught me so much about that in my life, showing up for people.”

During the panel, Spielberg spoke about the experience of bringing the actress onto the project when she was still a child. Barrymore’s Gertie, he said, was the “easiest character to cast,” with the actress’ hiring near instantaneous after she arrived at her audition and grilled him with interview questions before sharing her plans to start a punk band, The Purple People Eaters. “I sat there with Kathleen Kennedy, our producer, and we just literally took it in, and she basically had the job with the ‘Purple People Eater,’” recalled Spielberg. 

They also mentioned Barrymore’s famous “scream test,” with the actress recalling, “I was so excited because I apparently might have damaged the equipment slightly, and so I was like, ‘Thank you.’ I thought if I could break something with my audio, I might be doing a good job.”

The filmmaker noted that the project, which followed the release of Indiana Jones installment Raiders of the Lost Ark, allowed him to “really relax” into a story as a director. “There was no pressure. I had low expectations,” he recalled. “I thought I was making a really young people’s movie. I didn’t expect any box office, I simply wanted to get this thing through my system and out into my world. It didn’t have to be in your world; I just wanted to make the movie for me.” 

E.T. was also ultimately a project and narrative within his ever-growing catalogue that Spielberg could own. “It was my story. It wasn’t George Lucas’s story, wasn’t Peter Benchley’s story, it was my story,” he said. “I had just done a number of very difficult productions, and I had not intended this to be a hard movie to make, but it was something that came to my heart. It was something that I thought up.” 

For Barrymore, the conversation frequently centered on her near crystal clear on set recollections, including her unscripted interactions with E.T., some of which were caught on 35mm as part of behind-the-scenes footage. There was also — like Spielberg, who has not only rewatched E.T. the most of his films, but saw it with his seven children and six grandchildren — getting to experience the movie with her two daughters. 

“I didn’t want to sit around and be like ‘You have to watch my films.’ I just wanted them to find things organically. Then when they did — they would embrace them, they call them ‘Mom movies,’” Barrymore shared about her approach to introducing her kids to her catalogue. That has since included them watching E.T., Ever After, The Wedding Singer and Charlie’s Angels. 

Yet it is sharing in her work on E.T. that feels most resonant, in large part due to it being a life-changing experience, as the star noted, “I’ve never wanted to force it upon them, but I think E.T., for me, is the one I’m the most proud of because it’s the one that changed my life. There’s no question about that. Everything in my life is about how I got believed in by one human being, and that is the life that I try to honor every day.”

For Spielberg, the impact of filming the movie and working with Barrymore was just as meaningful. “Up until that point, I would just make movies. My life was obsessed with just telling stories,” he explained. “But making E.T. made me want to be a dad. I’d never even had a thought about that until E.T.”

Barrymore teased, “You don’t know how relieved I am that I didn’t ruin that for you.”