8 Crazy Movie Sequels That Almost Happened That We Just Found Out About

Back in the halcyon days of the late nineties and early noughties, anything was possible when it came to magical realist rom-com cinema, and Jim Carrey was leading the charge, with a rack of films where he's overcome by supernatural powers and handicaps that indubitably peaked with Bruce Almighty (2003).

Gaining the powers of God (Morgan Freeman), Carrey's Bruce Nolan goes on to use his newfound hoodoo to right a few wrongs in his life, including smiting work rival Evan (Steve Carell) and literally giving the moon and stars to his long-suffering girlfriend Grace (Jennifer Aniston), before everything falls apart. Despite its flawed conception of free will (Carell and the dog don't have it, but Aniston does?), the film is an era-defining romp that was betrayed by its sequel Evan Almighty (2007) in the most disappointing of ways -- going full bible and forgetting the fun.

But we could have had something so much better. In a recent interview with Syfy, writers Steve Koren and Mark O'Keefe revealed that they pitched their producer a sequel, the aptly named Brucifer, on the original film's opening night. It would have seen Bruce meet Satan and take on his powers instead. Grace would die and become a zombie, Bruce would dance with the devil, and either Freeman or Carrey himself would have played Lucifer. Unfortunately, when the pair pitched Universal seven years later, they didn't want anything to do with it, owing in no small part to the ruinous takings of Evan Almighty.

Thanks a lot, Steve Carell.