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E.T. the Extra-Terrestrialis one of the most significant films in Steven Spielberg’s career. The alien film still finds itself in discussions among cinephiles. After its first 1982 release, the film has been re-released multiple times. However, when the movie was re-released in 2002 to mark its 20th Anniversary, Spielberg made some notable edits in the theatrical cut.
TheJawsfilmmaker executed several changes inE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’s20th Anniversary re-release. While some scenes were added, many were enhanced to improve the movie’s quality. But Steven Spielberg regretted how he edited the guns out of the film. He believed the change should not have been made as it ruined the movie.
What did Steven Spielberg say about the major gun edit inE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?
The 1982 alien classic had a scene that featured several federal agents chasing Henry Thomas’ Elliott Taylor and his friends with guns to capture the titular alien. The 20th Anniversary re-release saw the guns in the scene replaced with walkie-talkies.
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Steven Spielbergaddressed the change when he spoke at the Time’s 100 Summit (viaDeadline) and admitted that he still regrets doing it. The filmmaker acknowledged that films should never be altered later to make them appropriate to the present time.
That was a mistake. I never should have done that. E.T. is a product of its era. No film should be revised based on the lenses we now are, either voluntarily, or being forced to peer through.
The presently 77-year-old director thought that it would not look good for federal agents to approach a bunch of kids with firearms so he changed it. However, reality hit him hard after some time and he realized that he should not have“messed”with the archives of his work. He also advised other filmmakers to not make such changes. TheJurassic Parkfame added:
All our movies are a kind of a signpost of where we were when we made them, what the world was like and what the world was receiving when we got those stories out there. So I really regret having that out there.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrialfeatured the story of a 10-year-old boy who befriends an alien and helps him to return to his planet. The film was a massive hit at the box office and was critically acclaimed by critics along with 4 Oscar wins for its impressive technical aspects.
Is Steven Spielberg making another alien film?
Despite his popularity for a wide variety of films, Steven Spielberg’s recent record has been underwhelming. His last two venturesWest Side StoryandThe Fabelmansdid critically well but were commercially unsuccessful. NowVarietyreports that the filmmaker is gearing up for his next release in 2026.
The reports don’t state anything about the story of the upcoming release. Universal will be backing up the project and they have described the upcoming release as a“new original event film”.Nevertheless, an earlier report byVarietystated that this new film may be a UFO story.
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David Koepp, who worked alongside Spielberg inJurassic Park, War of the Worlds,andIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,will develop the script of the film. It will be interesting to see if this upcoming film can be a comeback for the three-time Oscar-winning director.
Steven Spielberg’s untitled upcoming film will be released on June 23, 2025, whileE.T. the Extra-Terrestrialcan be rented on Apple TV+.
Subham Mandal
Senior Writer
Articles Published :1461
Subham Mandal is currently working as a content writer for FandomWire with an ardent interest in the world of pop culture. He has written more than 1000 articles on different spheres of modern pop culture and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He’s also an experienced student journalist having demonstrated work experience with the Times of India. He aspires to be a column writer in the future.
