8 Famous Movies That Started Out In Completely Different Genres

8. E.T. Was Originally Intended As A Horror Movie About An Alien Named "Buddy"

It's a well-known fact that Steven Spielberg once considered directing a sequel to his classic movie E.T. - one that would have seen Elliot being whisked off to another planet and forced to partake in a conflict between two warring alien races.

What's less know, however, is that Spielberg originally set out to make the first E.T. film as an experience in nightmarish horror, too. That's right, the family-orientated classic wasn't always a loveable sci-fi yarn - in the wake of Close Encounter's friendly alien reveal, Night Skies was intended as a polar opposite, with a plot about evil space invaders coming to Earth and terrorising a family.

In there somewhere, there would've also been a friendly alien character named "Buddy," whose purpose was to help the family to survive. As the project developed, though, Spielberg became more enamoured with the Buddy character, and decided to settle on a movie about a nice alien. The director bid farewell to the horror elements, commissioned a script, and the E.T. that we know and love was born.

And thank God he jettisoned the name Buddy too.