The Forrest Gump movie was supposed to get a sequel but never got made. In a recent interview, Tom Hanks revealed that there was indeed a possibility of the sequel to be made.
They were considering the idea, and could have been a huge possibility but apparently only for 40 minutes.
This 1994 released movie was a cult classic in Hollywood, and was appreciated worldwide. The movie was based on a novel with the same title written by Winson Grooom in 1986.
Interestingly, that book indeed got its sequel titled ‘Gump and Co’ which was published in 1995, just a year after the release of the Forrest Gump movie.
Tom Hanks played the titular character in the film, a simple-minded man from Alabama who gets on this journey to experience a full life of adventure, love, loss and becoming a part of many crucial moments in 20th Century American History.
Forrest Gump was a huge success, and also a smash hit on the box-office, also gained the second highest spot of highest grossing movie of that year just below The Lion King.
The film went on to bring 1995 Academy awards, and won six Oscars including for best picture, best actor for Tom Hanks and more, and that too competing against other classic movies like The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction.
The Criticism Around ‘Forrest Gump’ Over The Years
However, the movie didn’t seem to age well over the years in terms of political correctness and progressive stream of society.
So, the movie did get a fair share of backlash for the past few years, especially from critics as according to them and further re-evaluating, The Shawshank Redemption should have been to get the best picture award.
This came from critics re-evaluation from IndieWire and further polling done by The Hollywood Reporter in the year 2015.
But nothing can change the fact that this film still remains in the heart of every cinegoer or cinephile, and has been part of their life.
It is still a fan-favourite movie, and always remains iconic in the eyes of people but the question a lot of people asked is why Forrest Gump never got an official sequel?
The Talk About ‘Forrest Gump’ Sequel Lasted For Only 40 Minutes
Well, to begin with, even though sequels for Forrest Gump excite fans , most people or even fans know that in this case, it might not work or simply isn’t necessary.
Even the creators of the movie were sure that a sequel for this film wasn’t necessary, and the same goes for Tom Hanks.
He recently gave an interview to Josh Horowitz on his podcast Happy Sad Confused, where he talked about how they did talk about the sequel of the film but it lasted only 40 minutes.
Here’s what Tom Hanks said on the podcast regarding the Forrest Gump sequel :
“I will say that, with a long time in between, we did take a stab at talking about another Forrest Gump that lasted all of 40 minutes. And then we never…we said, ‘Guys, come on.’ A smart thing I did is I’ve never signed a contract that had a contractual obligation to a sequel. I’ve always said, ‘Guys, if there’s a reason to do it, let’s do it. But you guys can’t force me.’ There is that natural inclination that is one of pure commerce that says, ‘Hey, you just had a hit, so do it again and you’ll have a hit.”
Well, it does make sense. And for all we know, the Forrest Gump sequel could land up looking like Speed 2 or even worse.
It is very well known what happens to mindlessly creating sequels just because the movie worked. In fact it could have even ruined the legacy of the first Forrest Gump for the fans.
Fortunately, the director Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks went further on collaborating on other projects from time to time.
They did the movie Cast Away and again an animated holiday film titled The Polar Express and now their next collaboration is an adaptation of Pinocchio where Hanks will play Geppetto, going to stream on Disney+ on September 8.
News Source: Happy Sad Confused Podcast
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