Ever wonder what happens to Hollywood scripts that just don’t get made? Most of the time absolutely nothing, but sometimes the rights make their way into the hands of comic book publishers, and that’s when magic happens. There’s a history of rejected movie and television scripts eventually making their way to comics, where budgetary constraints and studio interference are a non-issue for creators.
Recently, thanks to the 20th Century Fox Uncovered program, comic book readers have gotten a taste of what could have been for two entries in the Alien franchise. Last year, Dark Horse Comics published a graphic novel adaptation of sci-fi master William Gibson’s unproduced screenplay of Alien3. This year, fans are getting Dan O’Bannon’s original 1976 screenplay of Alien (1979). The contrast between Gibson’s vision of the third installment and what movie-goers got in 1992 (currently rated 43% on Rotten Tomatoes), is staggering to say the least, and offers fans a look into an alternate dimension where the franchise may not have gone off the rails as it has in ours.
Also thanks to 20th Century Fox Uncovered, Rod Serling’s (the man behind The Twilight Zone) original screenplay for The Planet of the Apes (1968) was published by BOOM! Studios in 2018. At Dark Horse, there’s 2013’s The Star Wars written by Jonathan W. Rinzler, but adapted from George Lucas’ original rough draft of the film that would change the landscape of popular culture forever. The comic is a fascinating example of just how much a story can evolve during the writing and filmmaking processes.
Iconic comic book creator Frank Miller is a name that comes up more than once when researching this phenomenon. First, when his script for the sequel to Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop (1987) was rejected by the studio and ultimately rewritten by Walon Green; and secondly, when his seminal take on Daredevil in The Man Without Fear - originally intended as a treatment for a live-action movie - was ed on and instead expanded into a comic mini-series that went on to define the character as we know him today. Akin to Miller, two of writer/director Kevin Smith’s unproduced scripts have been adapted into comic books: The Green Hornet (before the project was picked up by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg) and The Bionic Man; a film reboot of the '70s TV show The Six Million Dollar Man.
Another notable entry is Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, a multiple Eisner-winning book based on the lost screenplay by Henson and his longtime writing partner Jerry Juhl, which gloriously came to life in 2011, thanks to a partnership between the Jim Henson Company and Archaia Entertainment. The singular art and visual storytelling, realized by writer/artist Ramón K. Pérez, elevates the book to something that non-Henson fans can appreciate and enjoy.
In TV land, the work of some widely respected authors has found its way into the hands of happy readers. For example, Harlan Ellison’s original teleplay for the Star Trek episode “The City On The Edge of Forever” was published in 2015 by IDW, a worthwhile read for fans of Ellison and classic Trek. Unfortunately, George R. R. Martin’s ill-fated TV series Doorways, turned comic book in 2010 - also through IDW - wasn’t as well received, giving readers a chance to see why the show wasn’t picked up in the first place. It’s wild to think of all the stories that would’ve never seen the light of day had it not been for comic book adaptations. There are more examples than are featured in this article, and hopefully more to come. In some cases, these stories are appreciated solely as quasi-historical artifacts; in others, they are vindication of their creators’ vision. Good or bad, the more stories escape development limbo and find their way into the hands of readers, the better.
