12 Ridiculous Early Concept Designs Of Iconic Characters
6. E.T.
Steven Spielberg is one of America's greatest filmmakers, and E.T. stands in the highest of tiers on his catalog. The film had sentimentality in spades with audiences feeling their heart strings being strummed as they watched the bond between Elliot and the film's alien blossom into a wonderful friendship that transcended species.
What made the movie so endearing, was the physical design of the alien. Its big eyes and wrinkly face made it look both harmless and friendly, two reassuring qualities for an alien to have. However, the original look was made to be much more threatening than what audiences ended up falling in love with.
E.T. was planned to be a horror film that succeeded Spielberg's Close Encounters of Third Kind titled, Night Skies. The brow of these aliens furrowed as their slit-eyes stared down their pray. Lanky arms sprawled out from rail-thin bodies, with wiry fingers that could kill with just a touch. They would make one hell of an opponent for the Predator. The movie would center around one good alien named Buddy, who grew into what we know as E.T.
Spielberg instead doubled back on the idea, considering it all too dark. Considering that cinema's collective spirit was rising out of the dumps and depression of the 70s, and all the money he ended up making, it's safe to say Spielberg made the right call.