Every Cancelled John Carpenter Film We NEVER Got To See
12. They Live II: Hypnowar
Based on Ray Nelson's novel, Eight O'Clock in the Morning, They Live centres around a drifter who discovers sunglasses that allow him to see subliminal messages and aliens disguised as humans.
The cult classic resonated with the masses immediately, encouraging Carpenter to prep a sequel. They Live II: Hypnowar expand on the lore, shifting its focus from extra-terrestrial elites to the mechanisms of psychological warfare itself. While the original used sunglasses as a blunt metaphor for brainwashing, Hypnowar aimed to subtly dramatise media saturation and propaganda.
But They Live II got cancelled, due to... well... it's complicated. While making They Live with Alive Films, Carpenter had signed a contract so that he could direct another big-budget feature by a different studio. Sadly, Carpenter got into a dispute with Universal, which resulted in Alive Films going back on the deal. This led to all parties suing and countersuing each other, with Hypnowar getting caught in the crossfire.
The fallout had a major knock-on effect, since Carpenter's upcoming projects with Alive Films, Victory Out of Time and At Midnight, were also terminated.