10 Horror Movies That Were Cancelled Because Of Other Movies
5. John Carpenter's Firestarter Was Cancelled Because Of The Thing
John Carpenter's Halloween is often considered the definitive slasher and among the most influential horrors of all time. Following the back-to-back success of The Fog and Escape from New York, Carpenter had proven he was anything but a one-hit wonder.
Given his mastery of slow-burn tension and atmosphere, it made sense when Carpenter was hired to adapt Stephen King's Firestarter, which centres on a girl who can manifest flames with her mind. Carpenter already helmed a King adaptation, Christine, so he was more than qualified for the gig. Carpenter envisioned Burt Lancaster and Richard Dreyfuss in starring roles and hired Bill Lancaster (Burt's son) and Bill Philips to write the screenplay.
But everything unravelled when John Carpenter's The Thing bombed at the box office. Though now regarded as a masterpiece, the groundbreaking body-horror was eviscerated by critics at the time. Universal Pictures lost confidence in Carpenter, urging the studio to replace him with Mark L. Lester.
Firestarter still made it to the screen, but was far removed from Carpenter's interpretation since it was based on a script by Stanley Mann and featured a different cast.