9 Movies That Were Cancelled At The Last Minute

Despite only running for four years between 1966 and 1969, the original Star Trek series had one of the most committed fanbases around. This was especially evident through convention attendance and merchandise sales, which dwarfed pretty much everything else of the era.

That’s why ten years after it was cancelled, Star Trek: The Motion Picture released, re-energising the franchise and setting up future films and various different spin off or sequel TV shows.

However, before this there was another, earlier idea for a movie. The studio was ready to move full steam ahead on the project, but once they read Gene Roddenberry’s script, they slammed the brakes.

Roddenberry was known for pushing boundaries, but The God Thing was viewed as being way over the line for the era. It had an alien entity posing as God and featured heavy anti religious themes, with Spock questioning if the earthling Gods ever feel insecure in the vast universe.

Parts of the script were recycled into The Motion Picture in 1979, as well as Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, although both of these movies tackled the existence of gods with more sensitivity and openness, rather than as a critique of religion itself.